Tunisia to hold general elections in December: PM

Amid ongoing protests and public demand for ouster of the Islamist-led transitional government, Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh Monday declared to hold general elections Dec 17 , Xinhua reported.

Larayedh stressed that his government was not clinging to power, rather fulfilling its duty. The Monday's announcement came four days after the assassination of a prominent opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi, a strong opponent of the ruling Ennahdha in the Constitutional Assembly.

Since the assassination, thousands of people have marched in the streets, calling for government's resignation.

Before that, Tunisia had long been witnessing calls to dissolve the Constitutional Assembly, which the opposition parties see as being controlled by the country's main Islamist Ennahdha party.