Ghannouchi says cabinet reshuffle possible

The leader of Tunisia's ruling Ennahda movement, Rachid Ghannouchi, has said the final statement of the Islamist organisation's Ninth Conference will mostly be relased on Sunday. The statement will reportedly suggest an amendment to the government and the expansion of the country's ruling political Troika. The amendments are apparently directed at improving the efficiency of Hamadi Jebali, the Ennahda Secretary-General. Ghannouchi said the conference will assess the performance of the government since it took over six months ago to decide on a cabinet reshuffle. It is the first time the Islamist leader revealed the possibility of an amendment to the government and expansion of the Troika, which has led the country since the elections of October 23, 2011. Many opposition parties, especially the Republican Party, earlier demanded a new national rescue government to lead the country until elections due in the spring of 2013. The conferences in its second day discussed the strategic and political future of the movement. Conference head Abdel-Latif Obaid, who was also a former health minister, said in a press statement that the meeting aimed to transform the movement to a centrist front that united all moderate forces.