Tunisia’s interim president Fouad Mebazaa says that voting for a council of representatives to rewrite the constitution will be held by 24 July.

The interim government will run Tunisia until then. Mebazaa also says he will continue in office, even though the current constitution limits positions in a caretaker government to a 60-day term.

Once elected, the constitutional council could choose to appoint a new government or ask the current government to continue until presidential or parliamentary elections are held.

Former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country on 14 January after weeks of protests against his regime (MEED 20:1:11). Since then, the interim government has struggled to restore calm in Tunisia with the prime minister Mohammed Ghannouchi and six other ministers having already resigned.

On 1 March, the leader of Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda movement, Rached Ghannouchi said his party is considering joining the interim government. Ennahda has been for banned in Tunisia for 20 years.