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Tunisia moves forward with controversial law amendment ahead of election

September 24, 2024 at 1:43 pm

Hundreds of people, carrying banners and flags, gather at Habib Bourguiba avenue to protest against a proposed amendment to the electoral law presented by some members of parliament in Tunis, Tunisia on September 22, 2024 [Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency]

The Tunisian parliament yesterday announced that its members have agreed to hold an extraordinary general session on Friday to consider amending a law to withdraw the authority to settle electoral disputes from the administrative court.

The proposed amendment, submitted by more than a third of the members of parliament, has sparked controversy and protests from human rights organisations and the opposition, as it threatens the credibility of the elections.

As a result, the capital witnessed two protest marches within a week.

The draft amendment would allow the court of appeal to handle electoral disputes instead of the administrative court.

The Tunisian Network for Rights and Freedoms said that the draft law poses a “direct threat to the role of the judiciary in preserving the integrity of the electoral process.”

The session comes just two weeks before the presidential election vote, which is due to be held on 6 October.

Legal experts said the move could stop the administrative court from declaring the election results as invalid after a number of candidates were not allowed to run in the election in spite of the court’s order that they be allowed to do so.

READ: Protests in Tunisia against ‘rigged’ presidential election