October 25, 2009

On October 25, 2009 , Tunisians will go to the polls in order to choose their President of the Republic and their representatives in the Parliament.

Conditions of candidacy to the Presidency of the Republic:

• The candidate shall be Tunisian, having only the Tunisian nationality, and born of parents and grand-fathers, both paternal and maternal, who are Tunisian and have remained as such without discontinuity (article 40 of the constitution)
• T he candidate shall be, on the day of submitting his candidacy, at least 40 and at most 75 years old (article 40 of the Constitution).
• The candidate shall be enjoying all his civil and political rights (article 40 of the Constitution).
• The candidate shall be of Muslim religion (article 40 of the Constitution)
• Each candidate shall make a 5,000-dinar security deposit. This deposit shall only be refunded if the candidate obtains a minimum of 3% of the valid votes (article 66 of the Electoral Code).

The election process

• A national committee of  Presidential and Legislative Elections obsers has been established to monitor the electoral process. This body includes personalities known for their autonomy.
• The Constitutional Council exercises its functions concerning the approval of the validity of the files of presidential candidates and the results of elections.
• The reforms introduced into the Electoral Code in 2002 came to ensure the transparency of the electoral operation and to facilitate the registration of voters .
• The Electoral Code provides that an allowance to finance the electoral campaign shall be granted to each presidential candidate and each list of candidates to legislative elections.
• During the electoral campaign, candidates to elections are offered equal time to speak to voters through the national radio and television.