Tunisian Parliament Votes For New Constitution Friday Jan 03,2014

Tunisia's National Assembly on Friday Jan 03,2014 has begun voting on a long-delayed new constitution.

A member of Tunisia's parliament holds up a copy of a document that reads in Arabic "Draft Constitution of the Republic of Tunisia,"Jan. 3, 2014 in Tunis.

 

A two-thirds majority is needed to pass each of the more than 145 articles. 

It is to be voted on article by article and politicians hope it will be adopted by 14 January - the third anniversary of the 2011 revolution

The 217-seat national assembly was elected in October 2011 and was supposed to have adopted a new constitution within a year.

But the process has been delayed by deep divisions between the then-governing moderate Islamist Ennahda party and the opposition, aggravated by last year's political assassinations.

Ennahda condemned the killings but the opposition accused it of failing to rein in Islamists.

Towards the end of last year, Ennahda and its rivals agreed on an interim administration to govern until elections, expected within six months of passing the new constitution.