Hello and welcome to the details of Tunisians vote for new chamber with little enthusiasm and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - TUNIS, Dec 24 —Tunisians trickled into polling stations today in the first local elections for a second chamber of parliament under a constitution pushed through last year by President Kais Saied.
Opponents of Saied argue the election is the latest step in the president’s “authoritarian” agenda.
Saied, a former law professor who was elected president in 2019, seized executive powers two years later, sacking the government, dissolving parliament and declaring he would rule by decree.
His new constitution, which was approved at a referendum, established two chambers of parliament—the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) and a National Council of Regions and Districts.
Advertisement
The ARP, with very limited powers, began its work earlier this year after an election boycotted by the opposition and spurned by voters, with only 11 per cent casting ballots.
Tunisian media said todays’ election was also expected to see a low turnout.
The inauguration of the National Council of Regions and Districts—the second chamber that voters are being asked to elect today—is scheduled for June 2024.
Advertisement
The council will decide on the state budget and regional development projects, and its members are selected in a complex process of local ballots and drawing of lots.
On Sunday, Tunisia’s nine million electorate is being asked to choose more than 2,000 councillors from around 7,000 candidates, according to the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE).
The elections will result in the establishment of local, regional and district councils, allowing for the creation of the second chamber.
Opponents of Saied have called for a boycott of Sunday’s election, calling them “illegal” and “imposed”.
Since February, authorities have jailed more than 20 members of the opposition, including Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi and Jawhar Ben Mbarek, the co-founder of the National Salvation Front, among others.
More than 260 prominent figures in Tunisia signed a petition against what they called the “useless” election, saying they believed Saied’s government “continues to implement its political project imposed on” people in the country.
In the petition, they said the aim of today’s election was to “weaken local power, disperse it, and make it another docile instrument in the hands of the executive power”. — AFP
These were the details of the news Tunisians vote for new chamber with little enthusiasm for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
