Tunisia holds first judicial elections

Tunisia “is experiencing today a milestone in the history of Tunisia”, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said yesterday after the country held its first High Judicial Council elections.

This new stage in the constitutional institution “is likely to contribute to the consecration of the foundations of the independence of the judiciary which has militated entire generations of Tunisians.”

The prime minister congratulated all Tunisians and the members of the judicial system for this important step which he said will work towards the completion of Tunisia’s democratic transition.

The elections also allow the choice of the Tunisian people to build a future based on justice, freedom, democracy and respect for constitutional institutions, Chahed stated.

Tunisia is regarded as the sole success story of the Arab Spring when President Zein El Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled the country for 23 years, was overthrown and replaced by a functioning, if tumultuous, democracy that has already seen six governments in five years.