Tunisian parliament to vote on new constitution

Tunisia’s interim parliament is set to vote on a much-delayed new constitution a day after the prime minister-designate failed to form a caretaker cabinet.

The Tunisian National Assembly lawmakers are to vote later on Sunday on a new constitution that has already been discussed line-by-line.

The vote was pushed back to allow lawmakers to amend the rules of the confidence vote, making it harder for the assembly to dismiss the new government.

The session comes a day after Tunisian interim Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa failed to form a caretaker cabinet that would oversee the run-up to fresh elections.

Jomaa was expected to hand over his line-up to President Moncef Marzouki on Saturday afternoon, but shortly after midnight he said he would not go ahead due to lack of consent.

“I chose not to do it in order for a consensus to be reached,” Jomaa stated.

Jomaa, who was officially designated as the new prime minister of Tunisia on January 10, had a two-week deadline that expired at midnight.

According to local media outlets, the main disagreement in the negotiations for a new government was over the post of interior minister.

Some opposition groups do not want the current minister, Lotfi Ben Jeddou, to continue in the post, but supporters, including those from the ruling Ennahda Party, argue that he should remain as the country needs continuity.

The ruling party stepped down on January 9 in an agreement with opponents to end an impasse and make way for a caretaker administration to govern the country until new elections later this year.

In September last year, Ennahda announced that it had accepted the roadmap proposed by the mediators to end the deadlock that started after the assassination of an opposition politician two months earlier.

The murder of Mohamed Brahmi on July 25, 2013, triggered the crisis in Tunisia with the National Salvation Front blaming the government for failing to maintain security.