The head of the Independent High Authority for Elections, Farouk Bouaskar, confirmed that the upcoming electoral elections are clear.
He added in a media statement accompanied by “Al-Sabah News” in the authority’s pavilion at the Tunis International Book Fair that legislative elections will be organized at the end of 2027, with presidential elections being held in 2029.
Regarding the municipal elections, he stressed that the Commission is ready to organize the municipal elections as soon as the regulatory orders organizing them are issued, noting that preparation for the elections requires between two and three months.
In a related context, Bouaskar confirmed that the government has a role in the issue of municipal elections, explaining that there are texts that must be issued before organizing the elections, and the most important text is the issuance of a new basic law for the municipal councils, which is in its final touches and will be referred by the government to the Assembly of People’s Representatives for approval. Once it is issued in the official gazette of the Tunisian Republic, then it is possible to talk about a final date for the municipal elections.
Constitutional entitlement
On the other hand, he stressed that the municipal elections are not only a date and organization for the elections in the logistical sense, but there is a legal framework that must be ready, which is a new basic law for the municipality that replaces the local universities’ code that was issued since May 2018.
He explained that after the issuance of the 2020 Constitution, the Local Communities Code became almost non-existent, given that large sections of it were revised in relation to local, regional and regional council elections, and thus they became incompatible with the new section related to centralization in the 2020 Constitution.
Bouaskar stressed by saying, “The municipal elections, contrary to what was reported, will be organized as a constitutional entitlement, and the only change between the old and new municipal electoral system is that we have moved from municipal elections based on lists to municipal elections based on individuals.”
A message to Tunisians
Bouaskar sent a message to Tunisians saying: “With regard to the municipal elections, we still have time and they could be even in late 2026. What we confirm is that the municipal elections will be organized and the date will be determined after the issuance of the legal text. The Commission is also able to organize them within three months or even two months from the date of the issuance of the law.”
Abeer Trabelsi
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