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| Africa North |
| Tunisia Assembly Begins Historic Vote on New Charter |
| 2014-01-04 |
| [An Nahar] Three years after its uprising, Tunisia's parliament began voting Friday on a long-delayed new constitution whose adoption would mark a crucial democratic milestone in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. A tight deadline of January 14 has been set for the adoption of the charter, which could end months of political crisis and further distance Tunisia from the chronic instability plaguing other countries in the region rocked by regime change. At Friday's opening session, politicians approved, by 175 votes out of the 184 MPs present, the title of the charter, which also has to be voted on article by article. "We have had difficult moments, marked by a lack of trust. It is a complicated step which requires sacrifices and patience," said parliamentary speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafara before voting began. Elected in October 2011, just months after the ouster of long-time autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the National Constituent Assembly was due to have drafted and adopted a new charter within one year. But the process was heavily delayed by deep divisions between the ruling Islamist party Ennahda and the opposition, aggravated by a rise in attacks by Islamist forces of Evil and sometimes violent social unrest. The deadlock, which became a full-blown crisis with the liquidation in July of an opposition MP by suspected jihadists, paralyzed political life and prevented the formation of functioning state institutions. Ennahda and the opposition negotiated a series of compromises during intense negotiations in recent weeks, aimed at securing the approval of two thirds of the assembly's 217 elected members needed for the constitution to be adopted. In the absence of such a majority, it must be put to a referendum. But if approved by the January 14 deadline, the charter is expected to end the political impasse. |
| Posted by:Fred |