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Tunisian leaders meet anew to break deadlock on PM
[Al Ahram] Tunisian politicians met again on Monday in a new bid to choose a prime minister after missing two deadlines to bridge their differences and resolve months of deadlock.The powerful UGTT trade union mediating the talks said the latest meeting began at around 1300 GMT, two hours after a noon deadline passed to announce the name of a new prime minister. Tensions have gripped Tunisia since veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled in a 2011 uprising, and were exacerbated by the murders of opposition politicians Chokri Belaid in February and Mohammed Brahmi in July. The two sides opened hard-won talks on 25 October to form a government of independents, draft a much-delayed constitution and prepare for elections as part of a roadmap with a strict timetable. Under the plan, a new prime minister was to have been named on Saturday, a week after the talks began, but when that failed to eventuate a new deadline was set for Monday noon. As the latest meeting got underway Ennahda and the opposition warned that failure to reach a consensus by the end of the day would spell the demise of the so-called national dialogue launched last month. The two frontrunners to the premiership are opposition-backed 79-year-old Mohammed Ennaceur, and Ahmed Mestiri, an 88-year-old supported by Ennahda and its allies. Both are well respected and served under the late Habib Bourguiba, who led the fight for Tunisia's independence from its French colonial masters and served as its first president for three decades from 1957. Posted by: Fred 2013-11-05 |
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