Tunisian lawmakers begin voting on new constitution

Tunisia's parliament began voting Friday on a new constitution, a measure seen as crucial to ending a political deadlock between the ruling Islamists and the secular opposition, dpa quoted Tunisian News Agency as reporting. Two-thirds of the 217 lawmakers of the Constituent Assembly must approve the document; otherwise, it could be put to a popular referendum. It was expected to take several days for lawmakers to vote on the more than 250 amendments of the constitution, assembly President Mustafa Ben Jaafar told the Tunisian news agency TAP. Once approved, the ruling party Ennahda and the opposition have agreed to hand over power to a political caretaker government on January 14. The caretaker cabinet would govern until new elections are held.