Summary:

On 16 March 2023, the Committee of Internal Regulations of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People began compiling the internal oversight function of the recently convened Parliament. 

This new committee was elected on March 13 shortly after the new Parliament met for the first time. The committee is chaired by Imad Awlad Jibril with Sami El-Rayyes as deputy. The committee will operate on the basis of rules laid out for internal parliamentary oversight in 2015, a function which had not existed prior to adoption at that time. 

According to a post on the Parliament’s Facebook page, the committee has begun working to determine the legal structures by which it can operate and how the conduct of the parliament will conform to the constitution. 

Representatives in Parliament will continue to be accountable to a financial reporting system put in place to detect financial malfeasance. Furthermore, representatives will no longer have parliamentary immunity, which had been enjoyed by prior representatives and was identified by President Kais Saied as a source of corruption.

Outlook:  

Internal oversight will be an important attribute of an effective and credible governing body moving into the future. Accountable and transparent systems will help create additional stability in Tunisia’s political system in the long-term. Since the premature dissolution of the previous Parliament, any oversight actions of this kind could signal that the current legislature will attempt to offer checks and balances within the government. Our team will continue to watch for developments that would indicate changes in the political risk environment in Tunisia.

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