Speaker suspends Tunisian parliament in light of withdraws, protests

The speaker of Tunisia's National Constituent Assembly said he has suspended Parliament's activities until the dialogue among opposing parties resumes. "Despite the dangerous situation, instead of bringing people closer, political parties chose their own interests over national ones," Speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar said. His announcement comes after nightly protests in the two weeks since the July 25 assassination of opposition leader Mohamed Brahmi. The day after the killing, more than 60 opposition members of the NCA withdrew from the assembly and called for a sit-in. The withdrawn politicians alleged the ruling party was responsible for Brahmi's death, and demanded the legislative body be dissolved in favor of a more technocratic government. In response, the ruling party, Ennahdha, issued an official statement and rejected calls for the dissolution of the NCA, which the ruling party cites as a major source of the country's democratic legitimacy, Tunisia Live reported. Instead, Ennahdha called for all parties to build a broad coalition until the elections are held and the constitution is finished. The disagreements over the best form of government date back to when the NCA was created in October 2011, following the revolution that removed former President Zine el-Abidine ben Ali from power.