Tunisia’s Ennahda movement renewed calls for Prime Minister Youssef Chahed to drop plans to run for next year’s presidential election. In a statement Monday, Ennahda urged the prime minister and his government to carry out economic reforms agreed upon by the country’s political parties. The movement also urged the prime minister to boost government efficiency by implementing a ministerial amendment, especially in filling current government gaps. It also called for the continuation and expansion of dialogue as part of the “spirit of consensus that has distinguished our emerging democracy.” Earlier this week, President Beji Caid Essebsi had called on Chahed to resign or seek a confidence vote at parliament if the countrys political and economic crisis persists. "If this situation continues, the prime minister must resign or go to the parliament to ask for confidence," he told local TV. The political disputes must not continue, Essebsi stressed, pinning hopes on presidential and parliamentary elections in 2019 to resolve the crisis. Meanwhile, the pro-government Free Patriotic Union warned Tuesday against paralysis in parliament due to the government crisis, which has plaguing the country for months. Political tensions have been on the rise in Tunisia, with Essebsis Nidaa Tounes party increasingly blaming the prime minister for worsening economic conditions. Criticism has been growing as Tunisia struggles with unemployment, corruption and austerity seven years after the 2011 revolution that toppled Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Seven prime ministers have failed to fix a sluggish economy. Turmoil and terrorist attacks have deterred investors and tourists, eroding living standards of ordinary people and causing an increase in unemployment. Annual inflation hit a record high of 7.8 percent in June as the dinar currency tanked, making food imports more expensive.