Global General

Tunisian constitution council says ex-president ousted

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-15 19:33

TUNIS - Tunisian Constitutional Council decided Saturday to oust ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power, the official news agency TAP reported.

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The country's highest legal authority on constitutional issues also said that under the constitution, the new presidential elections should be held in no more than 60 days from now.

Ben Ali, Tunisia's president for more than 23 years, fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after massive protests across the country. The country's Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi took over the presidency after then, said state TV on Friday.

However, the Constitutional Council said Saturday that according to the constitution, the parliament speaker, not the prime minister, is interim president, state TV reported.

Also on Saturday, the country's airspace and airports are open for civilian flights, one day after several flights were cancelled, TAP said.