Ben Jaafar: We have kept our promise to Tunisian people

We have kept, today, our promise to the Tunisia people who, by their Revolution, imposed the choice of a democratic state,"   Mustapha Ben Jaafar, President of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), said on Monday morning in Bardo palace during the official session of the promulgation of the new Tunisian Constitution.He reminded that passing the fundamental law acclaimed the day before is the fruit of a collective work having involved all the national forces, insisting on "the political option for consensus, finally respected by all the parties," according to him, "to write the Constitution."The Assembly has experienced a real democratic debate which, sometimes, reached peaks of excitement, or even aggressiveness  but always ended in consensus, which is unprecedented in the Tunisian political life," he added.  The new Constitution, Ben Jaafar further underlined, "has laid the groundwork for good governance and put in place solid pillars of the modern democratic state, in communion with both the Arab-Islamic identity of  Tunisians, the attributes of modernity and the universal principles of human rights."He stressed the fact that "the achievement of the objectives of the Revolution inevitably involves the development, within the same Constitution, of a prominent place of rights and liberties, in such a manner as to be a shield against the return of despotism and corruption."The Constitution, he also underlined, "has established a political system similar to the specificity of the Tunisian reality, likely to ensure government stability and political alternation in power, not to mention the establishment of constitutional bodies tasked with establishing democracy and promoting the advent of a free, vigorous and organised press."According to him, the text of the Constitution has also allowed, among other progresses, to effectively making the judiciary a third power, entrenching the profession of lawyer as a liberal profession dedicated to the defence of rights, and establish the principle of positive discrimination consisting in practice in affecting a portion of revenues from the exploitation of the natural riches to development projects in regions.Ben Jaafar also commended the constitutionalisation of the participatory approach and local democracy, by ensuring the rights of citizens to get involved in the management of local affairs through elected bodies.Besides, the NCA President remembered the martyrs victims of terrorism who are now "national icons" like Chokri Belaid, Mohamed Brahmi, as well as sons of military and security officials, and Deputy Mohamed Allouche, who died a few days before the final adoption of the Constitution.Ben Jaafar also spoke of the immediate future of Tunisia :"What Tunisia needs today," he said, "is to work and produce more, focus training on sectors with high employability, develop its infrastructures, promote the sector of agriculture and boost the dynamics of investments and trade, in such a manner as to meet the expectations of people and the requirements of the Revolution."Voicing hope that the new government finds assistance among all the stakeholders, Mustapha Ben Jaafar called for "a social truce" for the coming months "until the country reach goals sound and safe."