The next legislative elections of December 17 will be held under a majority voting system, replacing proportional representation.
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A new voting method governing the election of deputies in the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) was established in Tunisia, Thursday, September 15, in line with the initiatives of the Head of State Kaïs Saïed targeting to weaken the influence of political parties. The new electoral regime – instituted by a presidential decree -law in the absence of the parliament suspended since July 2021 – replaces the majority unique ballot in two laps by list ballot (proportional representation) in force under the dominant parliamentary system (2011- 2021) dismantled by the Head of State during the past year.
Most Tunisian political parties-of the Libre Destourian party of ABIR Moussi (anti-Islamist) to the Islamo-conservative party Ennahda of Rached Ghannouchi, passing through Ettakatol (Social Democrat) and the workers’ party (extreme left ) – have already announced their decision to boycott the next legislative election scheduled for December 17. These parties had already boycotted the referendum of July 25 at the end of which a new hyperpricististical constitution had been adopted at 94.6 % of the votes. The participation had however been very low: 27.4 %.
In the continuity of the antiplangeal inspiration of the Head of State Kaïs Saïed, the new electoral law will lead to “the dilution of the role of political parties”, comments the political scientist Hamadi Redissi, co -author of the work the blocked transition (Ed. Diwen, 2022, Tunis). “These parties will be marginalized indirectly and insidiously,” he said. In fact, the nomination of candidates by parties will be replaced by a “sponsorship” mechanism granted by a collective of 400 voters, made up of women up to 50 % and young people under 35 years old up to 25 % .
“Croupion parliament”
The Tunisian Association of Women Democrats (ATFD) denounced this new voting system which, if it provides equality for sponsorships, does not hold it for the candidates themselves. The imposition of a strict parity in the lists of candidates had been one of the achievements of the previous voting system. Another controversial provision is the exclusion of any binational candidate. “A discriminatory measure,” deplores Mr. Redissi.
The new law also hardens sentences in the event of fraud and foreign funding. Finally, it provides for a procedure for withdrawing confidence at the expense of any deputy to which its voters could blame the non-compliance with its commitments. This idea of a “revocability” of elective mandates is a favorite concept in Kaïs Saïed, follower of a “democracy by the base” held for a remedy for the deviation of universal suffrage by elected officials which he deems irresponsible.
However, the negation of the role of political parties, to which Mr. Saïed has never hidden his hostility, will lead to the election of a “crumbling parliament in the face of a head of state who will retain most of the initiative “, worries Mr. Rédissi.
Elected in October 2019 to the Presidency of the Republic thanks to an anti -system vote, Mr. Saïed arranged full powers in July 2021 by invoking an “imminent danger” weighing on the nation. Since then, he has continued to unravel the acquis of the post-2011 parliamentary experience to replace his model where the reference to “democracy by the base” cohabit with extreme personalization of power.