Ex-president calls on Tunisian parties to demonstrate to hasten election date

The leader of the People’s Movement of Citizens Party (PMCP) Mohamed Moncef Marzouki has called on all political forces to protest to hasten the deadline for the municipal elections in Tunisia.

Initiating the call from his social media page, he urged all political forces “loyal to this country” to demonstrate in order to accelerate the electoral law, and for a date to be set. He warned that “the responsibility of the lag [in municipal elections] rests with the authority and is evident every day in all areas that it is unable to control.”

“The situation of our cities and villages are a political crime par excellence which are endless.  The municipality elections need to be free and fair.”  The Minister for Local Government and Environment, Riadh Mouakhar, reiterated the determination of his government to conduct the municipal elections in 2017 as best as possible.

“Efforts are being made at the level of the ministry and the government and the parliamentary blocs to prepare a proposal for a compromise to overcome the contentious point of the project to complete the revision of the electoral law.”

The elections were supposed to be held in 2016, but the differences between the parliamentary blocs on a number of law chapters regulating this election have caused the elections to be postponed.

The head of the independent high elections body in Tunisia, Shafiq Al-Sarsar, stated earlier: “The municipal elections will be more difficult than their predecessors, namely the legislative and presidential elections pin late 2014].”