Tunisian lawmakers are to vote today on adopting a long-delayed new constitution seen as crucial to getting the country’s democratic transition back on track more than three years after the popular uprising that toppled former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and touched off the Arab Spring.
Lawmakers completed their line-by-line scrutiny of the text late on Thursday after three weeks of heated debate on a range of subjects, including the role of Islam, women’s rights, the independence of the judiciary and the president’s powers.
The charter now needs the approval of two-thirds of the 217 members of Tunisia’s Constituent Assembly to be adopted. This would pave the way for the appointment of a caretaker Cabinet of independents headed by Tunisian prime minister-designate Mehdi Jomaa and tasked with leading the country to parliamentary and presidential elections later this year
Assembly information officer Karima Souid said the plenary session was set for 9am today, after earlier indicating that the vote was to take place yesterday.
Instead, legislators were to meet yesterday afternoon to reform the rules of the censorship motion, making it harder to dismiss the new government, to which the ruling Ennahda Movement has agreed to hand power under a deal to end months of political deadlock.
Jomaa was also set to present his Cabinet line-up to Tunisian President Moncef Mazouki yesterday, with a vote of confidence on the technocrat government set for Tuesday, according to Ennahda, which holds the largest share of seats in the assembly.
The Islamist party’s veteran leader, Rachid Ghannouchi, hailed the draft charter as an “historic achievement” that would enable the establishment of the Arab world’s first democracy.
“We are at an advanced stage of the transition, all that remains is to officially adopt this historic document and fix the date of the next elections,” Ghannouchi said.
Under the new constitution, executive power would be divided between the prime minister — who will have the dominant role — and the president, who retains important prerogatives, notably in defense and foreign affairs.
Islam is not mentioned as a source of legislation, although it is recognized as the nation’s religion and the draft constitution commits the state to “prohibiting any attacks on the sacred,” while guaranteeing freedom of conscience.
Hundreds of hardline Islamists gathered in Tunis on Friday to denounce what they branded a “secular” constitution.
“We are announcing our rejection of this constitution which serves foreign intelligence services... We have one master: our Prophet Mohammed,” one of the speakers shouted to the crowd, which shouted slogans demanding Shariah law.
Human rights are broadly enshrined in the text, although some rights groups have expressed concern that the provisions are vague.
The charter upholds gender equality and women’s rights “without discrimination,” and commits the state to promoting equal representation in elected bodies, which is unprecedented in the Arab world.
If the constitution is approved, it would then be formally promulgated by Tunisian President Marzouki, outgoing Islamist Prime Minister Ali Larayedh and Assembly President Mustapha Ben Jaafar, with the signing ceremony set for tomorrow.
If it fails to achieve the necessary majority on its first or second reading, it must be put to a referendum.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of