DHAKA: A forum of political parties on Saturday chose the industry minister as Tunisia’s next prime minister, set to replace the Islamist-led government with technocrats in what’s been a faltering transition to democracy.

Mehdi Jomaa, a 50-year-old independent who had abandoned a career in the private sector, won the vote to head a transition government after weeks of contentious debates by 21 political parties, dubbed the ‘national dialogue’ meant to pull Tunisia out of its impasse.

Jomaa has three weeks to form a government, which will prepare for presidential and legislative elections next year. No date has been set.

The Islamist-led government, headed by Ali Larayedh of the moderate Al Nahda Party, had agreed to step down as the North African nation plunged into a political crisis after the assassination last July of a leftist opponent, the second such killing in six months.

The weekend vote was seen as a last-ditch effort to pull Tunisia out of its political impasse.

BDST: 1400 HRS, DEC 15, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor