The Tunisian Parliament has passed a law to exclude certain individuals from running for election. The law “bans candidates who resort to “political advertising” outside regulated electoral campaigns or lead charity NGOs, from running for office,” according to The Arab Weekly.
The Candidates
Nabil Karoui of the Qalb Tounes Party is a businessman and owner of the TV station, Nesma. Reuters notes that “Karoui founded the Khalil Tounes Foundation in 2017 to provide aid to the needy in the economically troubled North African country and the charity garnered widespread publicity thanks to coverage by Nesma.”
Karoui believes the new law is aimed at him. He told Reuters: “It is a law dedicated to my exclusion from the race after polls revealed that millions of Tunisians intend to vote for me. Karoui has reportedly surged in the polls, ahead of the Ennahda Party and PM Chahed’s Tounes Party.
The new law passed by the Tunisian parliament, however, is not his only stumbling block as he is currently facing money laundering charges in court.
Other presidential candidates affected are Olfa Terras-Rambourg, a patron and member of a charity called 3ich Tounsi and Abir Moussi, who served in former president Ben Ali’s RCD party.
Reactions
The present government, headed by PM Youssef Chahed, is a coalition of the Tahya Tounes and the Islamist Ennahda Movement. As polls show growing dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister, some are suggesting that the amendment to the electoral law is a political move to eliminate the competition. According to Middle East Monitor, “The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), a politically influential organization in the country, opposed the proposal to amend the election law and called for postponing them until the end of this year’s elections.”
Middle East Eye explores the views of several stakeholders:
Independent MP Yassine Ayari, who represents Tunisians living in Germany, voted against the legislation. He said, “The governing parties did an opinion poll that shows the [Tunisian] people hate them… The only solution for them to stay in power was to exclude their serious competitors in the elections.”
Ben Aicha, MP from the RCD party, who supports the new law stated that “We targeted this article because it’s anti-constitutional, and even the ISIE [the Independent Higher Body for Elections] asked that it be removed.”
Samir Dilou, another MP with Ennahdha, said, “It is unreasonable to accept unequal competition between those who respect the law under penalty of sanctions and those who exploit the loopholes of the law to practice deception, taking advantage of the economic difficulties experienced by citizens because of the difficulties of democratic transition.”
Critics of the new law are now looking to President Beji Caid Essebsi with hopes that he will veto the law.
