A senior official of Tunisia’s Islamist movement Ennahda (Renaissance) yesterday called for national reconciliation during a rally held in the hometown of the country’s late first president, Habib Bourguiba.

Abdelfattah Mourou, a member of Ennahda’s political bureau, warned against “partisan and ideological conflicts” and urged all Tunisians to contribute to the country’s development, according to the state news agency TAP.

The Islamist rally was symbolically held in Monastir, the birthplace of Bourguiba, the founder of modern Tunisia who led it to independence from France in 1957.

The gathering of between 1,000 and 2,000 people was marked by several incidents however, with eggs thrown and some hostile chants, local Ennahda official Nejib Mrab said.

“It calmed down when Mr Mourou paid tribute to Bourguiba as the great Tunisian leader,” he said.

Ennahda was officially recognised following the ouster in January of Tunisia’s former ruler, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, under whose regime the movement was severely suppressed.

It has emerged as a favourite in the polls ahead of the country’s first post-Ben Ali election on October 23, to the concern of some secular and intellectual groups.