Summary:

On March 8, 2023, Official Degrees 9 and 10 were published requiring the dissolution of local municipal councils and amending the legal framework by which those councils are elected. The councils have been organized into a hierarchy of local, regional, and provincial councils, with candidates elected for five year terms at each level.

A number of revisions to the electoral process were mentioned in decree No. 10, which addressed amendments to a 26 May 2014 law on elections and referendums. Some of the most controversial amendments were related to the process of applying for candidacy for election to a local council.

Under the new framework, an application for candidacy in a municipal election is presented to the High Authority for Elections by the candidate and must meet certain conditions. These conditions include the provision of an officially issued court document that certifies if the candidate is involved in any legal proceedings. This particular requirement has raised concerns amongst those formerly serving within the municipal councils.  

Outlook:  

Local elected authorities have long created the frameworks in which localized corruption has thrived and grown in Tunisia. This “reset” of procedures, particularly around candidacy, is likely meant to dislodge long-established local authorities who some point to as the source of corruption and systemic challenges, particularly in the context of government services upon which the population is highly dependent. 

The composition of the new municipal councils will likely be completely different from the composition of the previous councils, and the partisan presence may be significantly shifted. This removal of power long held by political parties is consistent with prior executive actions taken by President Kais Saied.

This move is also consistent with other acts of power consolidation driven by presidential reform measures. Up until now, many local municipalities had been largely untouched by the political drama unfolding at the federal level.

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