The speaker of the elected assembly charged with writing Tunisia's post-revolutionary constitution has called politicians to end their bickering and get back to work. Following the assassination in July of an opposition politician, some 60 members of the assembly withdrew from the body, freezing its activity just as the new constitution was being finalized. The opposition is calling for an immediate dissolution to the government and negotiations to end the crisis have been deadlocked. Mustapha Ben Jaafar gave an impassioned plea to the two sides to reconcile, saying they had "an historic responsibility" to the people and God and "failure was forbidden." Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring and is struggling to build a democracy after decades of dictatorship.