Tunisia to hold presidential elections end of year
Tunisia’s presidential elections are expected to held in September or October 2024, according to Asharq Al-Awsat and agencies.
After the five-year presidential term, the election of a new leader is sought through a direct, general, free, and secret vote by an absolute majority that must take place within the last three months of a presidential term, as stated by Tunisia’s 2022 Constitution.
In recent years, Saied has been accused by senior officials and political activists of asset stripping Tunisia by privatising state institutions whilst giving wealth and ownership to those in power.
After the January 2023 local elections, Workers Party activist, Fathi Yaqoubi warned that “those who still expect a presidential election [to] take place in 2024 are mistaken,” and claims that “oil, milk, and coffee will be sold in private stores that only serve the president’s supporters.”
READ: More low turnouts in Tunisian elections
With over four million people registered to cast their vote in local elections, Farouk Bouasker, chief of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), announced that the turn out of the first local election was 11.6%.
In last year’s parliamentary runoffs, held on 29th January 2023, only 11.4% of the electorate had voted.
President Kais Saied announced that the low turnout of electorate votes was due to the publics hatred for parliament whilst critics suggested that Saied’s power seiures and political agenda was more likely to decline polling numbers. (link reuters)
More than 1,550 candidates grappled over the 779 local council seats in front of 14,000 representatives, local and foreign observers, and civil community organisations that take interest in electoral affairs.
The final results of the polling are expected to be released on the 8th-9th March.
AAA/AFP
