Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on Saturday said that Nidaa Tounes party has managed to overcome its crisis.

In a speech to a conference of the party, Essebsi said that the crisis was a result of personal and partisan interests.

Sixteen Tunisian lawmakers from Essebsi's Nidaa Tounes party resigned on Friday over a dispute involving his son in a move that may allow Islamist rivals to become the main parliamentary power.

The resignations deepened a split between two wings in Nidaa Tounes just days after its secretary-general, Mohsen Marzouk, announced he would break away and form a new political movement over accusations Essebsi's son was trying to control the party.

The rift in Nidaa Tounes, formed after Tunisia's 2011 revolt against Zine Abidine Ben Ali, comes at a delicate time as the North African state struggles to contain jihadist violence and encourage economic growth.

Source: MENA