Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protesters Block Key Building for 3rd Day
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 13:45 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran See also Syria Live Coverage: Car Bomb on Turkey Border; Insurgents Take Major Dam
Monday's Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The 2nd Anniversary of Mubarak's Fall
1739 GMT: Tunisia. The leader of the Ennadha Party, the dominant faction in the ruling coalition, has said he expects that agreement will be reached on a new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali.
Rachid Ghannouchi said, "I expect that agreement will be reached and I expect Jebali will remain the prime minister of a coalition government."
Following last week's assassination of opposition politician Chokri Belaid, Jebali proposed a Cabinet of apolitical technocrats but pthers in Ennahda objected.
Ghannouchi said a counter-proposal would be made, "There is a project for a political government that will be presented to the prime minister to form a team of politicians and technocrats."
The Ennadha leader continues, "We don't have much time before we announce this government. The time limit is this week."
Ghannouchi indicated that Ennahda was prepared to compromise over the control of portfolios such as defence, foreign affairs, justice, and interior.
Some groups in the ruling coalition, notably President Moncef Marzouki's Congress for the Republic, had threatened to withdraw their ministers if the Justice and Foreign Ministers were not replaced.