Tunisia's panel to go ahead in writing new constitution despite academics' rejection

FILE PHOTO: Tunisia's President Kais Saied gives a statement on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination, during a European Union - African Union summit, in Brussels, Belgium February 18, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool

TUNIS (Reuters) - The head of a committee tasked to prepare Tunisia's new constitution said on Wednesday he would go ahead with whomever participates in the panel after prominent academics refused to join it, raising fears the restructuring of the political system would not have broad consensus.

Last week, President Kais Saied named by a decree Sadok Belaid, a law professor, to head an advisory committee that included law and political science deans, excluding political parties from the constitutional process.