Summary:

On 20 September 2023, a senior official of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) announced that conducting local elections on 17 December was not feasible.

The official noted that preparations are underway to hold elections, including ongoing voter registration efforts, but the announcement was only published recently informing voters of the need to register for upcoming elections, leading to the assessment that 17 December would not be feasible.

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The following day, on 21 September President Kais Saied announced that local and regional elections would be held on 24 December.

The ISIE also met this week to discuss issues related to campaign finance, with a particular focus on measures to prevent foreign funding being used to finance electoral campaigns.

President Saied recently raised concerns after making comments indicating that he would not accept foreign election observers at future elections. He clarified that foreigners could come to Tunisia to follow the election, but only Tunisians would observe.

Outlook:  

Upcoming local elections will likely serve as a continuation of President Kais Saied’s efforts to limit the influence of Ennahdha and other political opposition parties that became entrenched in the political system in the post-revolutionary years.

The next series of local elections will take place under a revised framework put into place earlier this year. The revision of local election processes included measures to prevent unqualified candidates from holding positions.

With many Tunisians disenchanted or uninterested in politics, the elections are unlikely to garner significant local attention, even as the international community will likely continue to raise concerns about the degradation of Tunisia’s democratic system.

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