Less than two days before the deadline for filing for candidacy, there was a rise in the number of candidates seeking to run in the Tunisian parliamentary elections that will take place at the end of this year.
And on Tuesday night, the Independent High Electoral Commission of Tunisia declared that a total of 1281 candidates, including 191 women, had registered to run in the next parliamentary elections.
The commission confirmed that it will continue to accept requests for candidacy for the elections through next Thursday, provided that the names of the elections are announced no later than November 2 and the announcement of the list of candidates takes place on November 3, while the announcement of the list of candidates admitted permanently occurs after the judicial appeals are decided on November 22.
According to the new electoral law, which President Qais Said approved, the candidate must be a Tunisian, have a Tunisian father or mother, and not hold a different nationality in relation to the electoral districts located within Tunisian territory. They must also collect signatures from 40 voters, 50 percent of whom are women.
Elections for 161 parliamentary seats will take place on December 17, however a significant portion of the opposition parties will abstain in protest at President Qais Saeed’s decision to change the electoral legislation and a rejection of his political project.
The president’s opponents say that the electoral law approved by Said and will take place on the basis of the parliamentary elections, establishes the system of one individual government and to parliament without powers, and gives political parties a lesser role and reduces their representations and participation in political life. Saeed, however, denied trying to bar political parties from the upcoming legislature and claimed that this bill is “in reaction to the desire of the people.”
Despite the opposition’s boycott, there is significant interest in running in Tunisia’s elections.
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