Tunisia Assembly Begins Historic Vote on New Charter
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, lawmakers 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 militants and sometimes violent social unrest.
The deadlock, which became a full-blown crisis with the assassination 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.
High hopes
The new constitution, and adopting an electoral law and commission, should lead to the departure of the outgoing Islamist-led government and the appointment of technocrat premier Mehdi Jomaa, nominated in December under a deal to end the crisis.
According to the assembly's official calendar, published last week, a confidence vote for Jomaa's new government is scheduled for January 15.
Lawmakers began examining the charter's preamble in Friday's morning session, after which they were due to start scrutinizing the 146 articles finalized in June and some 30 key amendments drafted during the latest negotiations.
Another 200 amendments have been proposed, including an attempt to make Islamic sharia law a main source of legislation, but they are thought to have little chance of succeeding.
During the negotiations, the parties agreed to keep the main article of independent Tunisia's first constitution, which gives Islam a vague status, after Ennahda renounced its demand that sharia be enshrined in the text.
"Tunisia is a free, independent and sovereign state. Islam is its religion, Arabic is its language and it is a republic," the article says.
Another key compromise concerns the powers of the head of state, in a country that recently emerged from five decades of dictatorship.
The Islamists, who were persecuted under Ben Ali and had argued for maximum limitations, finally agreed to divide power between the president and the government.
The president, who is directly elected, will also be able to propose a vote of no confidence in the prime minister and have limited rights to dissolve parliament.
On human rights, the draft text guarantees freedom of expression and conscience, freedom of assembly and the right to strike.
"The constitution will be one of freedom, of independence and of justice," Ben Jaafar promised on Thursday, amid high hopes among politicians that the charter represents a key step towards Tunisia becoming the Arab world's first true democracy.
However, rights organisations jointly warned some constitutional provisions were too vague.
"Among the most urgent modifications required is a clear indication that the human rights charters ratified by Tunisia are obligatory and take precedence over national laws," said the group, which included Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
It also called for a provision stating the principle of equality between men and women.
Since the 1950s, Tunisia has had the most liberal laws in the Arab world on women's rights, which some accuse the ruling Islamists of wanting to roll back.
Source: Agence France Presse
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