October 24, 2009--

Chairman of the National Observatory of the 2009 Presidential and Legislative Elections met, on Friday in Tunis, with Arab and foreign observers who came to attend the elections of next October 25 in their different phases, namely the voting operation, counting of the votes and proclamation of results.

The Chairman of the Observatory underlined that the visit of this group of observers known for their experience in monitoring elections reflects the interest taken in the experience of the Observatory and the democratic process in Tunisia.

Having outlined the missions of the Observatory; a body that has been created by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in order, he said, to ensure more transparency and integrity to the electoral process, Mr. Abdelwaheb Behi reviewed achievements made by this mechanism over the different previous stages of the electoral process, including the registration and distribution of voting cards, the submission of candidacies and the campaign.

Throughout these stages, Mr. Behi said, the Observatory has been permanently in touch with parties concerned by the voting operation and helped ease candidates’ mission and boost dialogue between different political trends.

The Arab and foreign observers expressed consideration for the efforts exerted by the National Observatory of Elections and the level of respect it enjoys among both candidates and the administration.