Tunisia parties set Monday deadline to name PM

Tunisia's Islamist rulers and opposition have until noon on Monday to agree on a new prime minister to steer the country out of a months-long political crisis, a mediator said. The Islamist party Ennahda and the opposition have failed in a week of negotiations to choose a new prime minister as part of a roadmap to overcome the crisis, the UGTT trade union said on Sunday. They originally had until Saturday to bridge their differences, but that deadline passed without an agreement being reached. "The (new) deadline to announce the name of the head of the government is Monday noon (1100 GMT)," the UGTT said in a statement. According to politicians contacted by AFP, the negotiators could not decide between Mohamed Ennaceur, 79, supported by the opposition, and Ahmed Mestiri, 88, backed 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. Tensions have gripped Tunisia since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and were exacerbated by the murder this year of two opposition politicians. The opposition, and the government, say Islamist radicals, whose influence has grown since the uprising, are behind both assassinations and a wave of deadly attacks targeting mostly security forces. The opposition has demanded the resignation of the government and the formation of a cabinet of independents, accusing the current line-up headed by the moderate Ennahda of failing to rein in jihadists. After months of stalling, Ennahda opened talks with the opposition on October 25 in line with a roadmap to form the new government, agree on a much-delayed constitution and prepare for elections. Prime Minister Ali Larayedh pledged to step down so long as the timetable outlined in the roadmap is respected. The schedule means that whoever is tapped to be the new prime minister will have two weeks to form a government of independents and that the National Constituent Assembly has until end the end of November to draft a new constitution and an electoral law.