By Meletus EZE
Tunisian Prime Minister, Youssef Chahed, on Thursday said that the country was making steady progress on the path to free, transparent and trustworthy elections.
Chahed made the remarks on his Facebook page after Nabil Baffoun was elected by the parliament as the new president of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE).
“The next legislative and presidential elections, scheduled for the end of the year, will offer the decision to the people, who really have the power to choose their representatives,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Baffoun confirmed that the ISIE would work diligently to ensure the smooth performance of the upcoming elections, which would be held in the standards of credibility between October and November.
“ISIE will launch a major campaign to raise public awareness about the vote registration starting in March,” he said.
On Jan. 2, Tunisia’s President described 2019 elections as “a decisive and electoral year par excellence,” Beji Caid Essebsi added that 2018 had been “tough”.
Nevertheless, said Essebsi, “We will enter 2019 with a higher sense of responsibility and optimism because it is a decisive and electoral year par excellence.
It is the year of the parliamentary and presidential elections which will be held in respect of freedom, impartiality and transparency standards.
“We want the coming elections to be dedicated to the democratic process we are going through.”
Tunisia is perceived as the only relatively successful democratic model among the Arab states that have experienced popular revolutions since late 2010.
“Democracy cannot be imposed,” the Tunisian leader stressed, “it is, rather, practiced. It is necessary to provide the appropriate climate for elections to take place in convenient conditions.’’——Xinhua
