Tunisia's assembly has first session

TUNIS, Tunisia, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- The first elected government of the so-called Arab Spring had its first session Tuesday in Tunisia by praising the "martyrs" of the revolution, a leader said.

"I give thanks to God, to all those martyred and wounded and those who fought so we could witness this historic day," said Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of Islamic party Ennahda, was quoted by London's Daily Telegraph newspaper as saying.

Ennahda won the plurality of parliamentary seats in an October election for the 217-person national assembly and is expected to split the leadership with three other parties.

Hadadi Jebali, from Ennahda, is expected to become prime minister with Moncef Marzouki of the Congress for the Republic serving as president. Mustapha Ben Jaafar from Ettakatol will head the new assembly.

The assembly will work on drafting a new constitution and set the foundation for a new round of elections.

An uprising that started in late December eventually forced the ouster of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali after roughly two decades in office.

Rafik Boudjaria, an official with the Civil Front for Democracy and Tunisia, said critics would keep a close eye on the new leaders.

"We're here to remind the lawmakers of the demands of the Tunisian revolution -- dignity and freedom -- and to tell them the Tunisian people have not handed them a blank check," he was quoted as saying.