TUNIS, Tunisia, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Tunisia's political leadership Sunday decided on Mehdi Jomaa as the nation's new caretaker prime minister.
Leaders of 18 political parties voted 11-7 to replace Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh with Jomaa, who will put an interim government together after he is formally sworn in.
It took nearly nine hours for the summit to settle on Jomaa and begin the process of ending a political deadlock that has been in place for some four months, Tunisia-live.net said. The parties will meet again Wednesday to begin setting the stage for national elections.
Jomaa was an aerospace executive from 1988 until earlier this year when he became industry minister in Laarayedh's cabinet. Some opposition members expressed disappointment at the selection of a minister from the old government, Tunisia-live.net said.
