See related documentsElection observation report
| Doc. 13654
| 16 December 2014
Observation of the parliamentary elections in Tunisia (26 October 2014)
Author(s): Ad hoc Committee of the Bureau
Rapporteur : Mr Andreas GROSS,
Switzerland, SOC
1. Introduction
1. The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly, at its
meeting on 2 September 2014, decided to observe the legislative
elections in Tunisia on 26 October 2014, subject to receiving an
invitation, constituted an ad hoc committee composed of 11 members
(SOC: 3; EPP/CD: 3; EC: 2; ALDE: 2; UEL: 1) and authorised a pre-electoral
mission.
2. On 10 September 2014, the High Independent Authority for the
Elections (ISIE) invited the Council of Europe to observe the elections.
3. At its meeting on 29 September 2014, the Bureau approved the
composition of the ad hoc committee (see Appendix 1) and appointed
Mr Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) as Chairperson.
4. Under the terms of Article 15 of the co-operation agreement
signed between the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Commission
for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) on 4 October 2004,
“[w]hen the Bureau of the Assembly decides to observe an election
in a country in which electoral legislation was previously examined
by the Venice Commission, one of the rapporteurs of the Venice Commission
on this issue may be invited to join the Assembly's election observation
mission as legal adviser”. In accordance with this provision, the
Bureau of the Assembly invited an expert from the Venice Commission to
join the ad hoc committee as an advisor.
5. As the Assembly’s 4th part-session in 2014 took place from
29 September to 3 October, the organisation of a pre-electoral mission
around one month ahead the elections did not prove possible.
6. For the election observation mission, the ad hoc committee
met in Tunis from 23 to 27 October 2014. The programme of the meetings
is set out in Appendix 2 and the statement published after the elections appears
in Appendix 3.
7. The ad hoc committee thanks the Head and the staff of the
Council of Europe Office in Tunis for the organisation of the programme
and their logistical support.
2. Legal
framework
8. Tunisian citizens voted for the Assembly of the Representatives
of the People (ARP), to replace the National Constituent Assembly,
which was elected on 23 October 2011 and had since acted as both
a constitutional drafting body and a transitional legislative body.
According to the new Constitution passed on 26 January 2014, members
of the ARP will hold office for five years. The ARP will have 217
members, the same size as the National Constituent Assembly.
9. The head of the political party or coalition that wins the
largest number of seats in the ARP has to form a government within
a month, with the possibility to extend this deadline once.
10. The ARP was elected on a regional, closed-list proportional
representation system with the largest remainder method.
11. The Electoral Law required gender parity on the lists, and
all candidate lists presented must alternately rank women and men.
The law also required youth representation by stipulating that candidate
lists in any constituency that has at least four seats must include
a male and a female candidate no older than 35 among the first four
candidates. The electoral system remained unchanged since 2011.
12. There were 33 electoral constituencies divided between in-country
and out-of-country districts: 27 in-country constituencies, and
6 out-of-country constituencies: two in France, one in Italy, one
in Germany, one for the Americas and the rest of Europe not represented,
and one for the Arab world and the remainder of the world not represented.
13. The Venice Commission was not asked for an opinion on the
Electoral law by the Tunisian authorities, but the Venice Commission's
experts were invited to participate in exchanges of views with the
members of the National Constituent Assembly when the law was being
prepared.
14. According to the Electoral Law, any Tunisian citizen at least
18 years of age on the day preceding Election Day and who was on
the voters list was eligible to vote, with the exception of persons
sentenced to a complementary penalty under Article V of the Penal
Code, military personnel, as defined by the General Basic Law for
Military Personnel and Agents of the Internal Security Forces (officers
of the Internal Security Forces, of the National Guard, of the Civil
Protection, of the Prisons and Juvenile Detention Centres, and of
the Security Forces for the President of the Republic and Official
Personalities) and persons who were placed under legal guardianship
on the grounds of insanity, so long as guardianship was effective.
15. The Venice Commission expressed concern over the blanket exclusion
of security forces and army personnel from the electoral process.
3. Electoral administration,
registration of the voters lists and candidates
16. The election management body in Tunisia is the Independent
High Authority for Elections (Instance supérieure
indépendante pour les élections – ISIE). The ISIE is
a permanent commission entrusted with conducting democratic, free,
pluralistic, fair and transparent elections and referendums. By
law, it is composed of nine independent, neutral and competent members
elected by the Assembly of the Representatives of the People for
a single six-year term, with one third of the membership being replaced
every two years. In addition to the Board of Commissioners, the
ISIE is made up of an executive secretariat and regional commissions
in each electoral constituency.
17. There were 10 569 polling stations in Tunisia and 405 stations
outside of the country for Tunisians living abroad. The polling
stations had been distributed so that no station had over 600 registered
voters. Each polling station had a president and three additional
poll workers entrusted with different tasks and responsibilities.
18. The polling stations were grouped in polling centres. Each
polling centre had a president and one or more information officers,
depending on the number of polling stations in the centre. The purpose
of polling centres was to co-ordinate logistical operations and
facilitate the work of polling stations.
19. Voter registration occurred in two phases: phase I took place
from 23 June to 29 July and phase II from 5 to 26 August. Voter
registration was initially scheduled to end on 22 July, but it was
extended by the ISIE due to the low turnout. The ISIE announced
that those who registered to vote in phase II could not be nominated as
candidates for the parliamentary or presidential elections.
20. 5 285 136 citizens registered to vote for both the parliamentary
and presidential elections (first round scheduled for 23 November),
including 359 530 out-of-country voters. Of those registered, 50.5%
were women. The 4 242 548 citizens who registered for the 2011 National
Constituent Assembly elections were not required to register a second
time; they could confirm their registration status via an SMS system
and change their voting centre online if necessary.
21. The 2014 Constitution states that “the State works to attain
parity between women and men in elected Assemblies” and the Electoral
Law states that candidate lists must have gender parity and alternately
rank men and women on the list. In case of non-compliance, the candidate
list is rejected. However, there was no gender parity required for
the heads of candidate lists in all constituencies from the same
party or coalitions. As a result, out of 1 327 candidate lists,
only 145 were headed by a woman.
22. 1 327 candidate lists competed in the election, with 97 lists
competing abroad. Of the lists competing in Tunisia, 810 were made
up of political parties, 170 were from coalitions and 347 were independent-candidate lists.
23. During the last two years, Tunisia has witnessed a phenomenon
of reshuffling and merging among political parties, aimed at preventing
the fragmentation that was severely penalised by voters in the 2011 elections.
24. Small parties from across the ideological spectrum remained,
however, unable to unite within a polarised political landscape,
dominated by the Islamist party Ennahda (which occupied 89 seats
out of 217 seats in the ARP, having thus a large majority) and by
Nidaa Tounes (“Call for Tunisia”), a secular party launched in 2012 as
a potential secular challenger to Ennahda’s dominance and bringing
together a large spectrum of political views. Nidaa Tounes had built
in 2013 a coalition with other secular parties, including Al Massar,
Joumhouri and Afek Tounes, but this coalition split before the elections.
25. While the main competitors were considered to be, without
any doubt, Ennahda and Nidaa Tounes, it was also expected that Afek
Tounes, Al Massar and the Popular Front (a group of eight parties
with orientations including Marxism-Leninism, social democracy and
pan-Arabism) would be successful in occupying a certain number of
seats in the ARP.
26. Polling stations abroad were open on 24, 25 and 26 October.
27. Observers of the parliamentary elections included representatives
from Tunisian civil society and international organisations, agents
of candidates and parties, and foreign and domestic media representatives. The
ISIE accredited 463 international observers from nine international
organisations and 9 142 local observers.
4. Election campaign
and media environment
28. The official campaign period lasted from 4 to 24
October, and the campaign period for candidate lists in the electoral
constituencies abroad from 2 to 22 October.
29. The Electoral Law contains many prohibitions on the types
of campaigning and locations where campaigning can take place. It
stipulates that campaigning must comply with fundamental principles
such as the neutrality of public administrative offices, places
of worship, and the national media, as well as transparency of funding,
equality between candidates and non-incitement to violence, hatred
and discrimination. It prohibits campaigning and distributing campaign
materials at the premises, or by members of public administrative facilities,
public institutions, or private institutions not open to the public.
The use of State administrative resources is forbidden. Furthermore,
it prohibits campaigning in “educational, academic, and vocational institutions”.
30. The Electoral Law was designed to ensure equality of access
to public media for all candidate lists. Candidate lists may use
national and electronic media for campaigning; however, the use
of foreign media is prohibited except when it addresses out-of-country
voting. Political publicity, defined as any free of charge and/or
paid campaigning means using marketing methods and techniques in
support of one candidate with the intent of obtaining voters’ support,
is prohibited by the Electoral Law during the entire election period,
except for partisan newspapers which may “conduct propaganda” in
the form of publicity advertisements for its party or candidate
list. The joint decision of the ISIE and the Independent High Authority
for Audiovisual Communication (HAICA), of 5 July 2014, decreed that
candidate lists would be provided media coverage proportional to
the number of candidate lists in that constituency. Candidate lists
would each receive three minutes of free broadcast airtime on national
radio and television stations.
31. The Electoral Law prohibits any broadcast or publication of
opinion surveys that are directly or indirectly related to the election
during the electoral campaign period, as well as the day preceding
the election. This prohibition extends to studies and journalistic
commentaries on such surveys.
32. All forms of campaigning were prohibited on 25 October, the
day preceding election day, and on election day itself.
33. The ISIE opened an Elections Media Centre on 20 October, as
a point of communication between the ISIE, journalists and the public
regarding the parliamentary elections.
34. Electoral campaigns, as stipulated by the Electoral Law, are
to be funded by private and public funding, and self-funded. Each
candidate list is allocated a grant as public assistance to electoral
campaign funding. The public subsidy is not fixed across all constituencies,
but is instead determined based on criteria including the size of
the constituency, the number of voters and the cost of living. It
ranges from 2 250 to 5 850 Tunisian dinars. The total amount of
campaign expenditure allowed for each candidate list is five times
the level of public funding they were allocated.
35. Any list that receives less than 3% of valid votes and/or
does not win any seats must return the entire public subsidy. Half
of the grant is provided seven days before the launch of the campaign,
and the second half is disbursed within one week after the announcement
of the final results of the elections, provided the campaign list
presents evidence and transfer account ledgers to the Court of Accounts
showing that the first instalment was spent on campaign expenses.
36. The Electoral Law allows private donations from individuals
(limited to 20 times the minimum wage, approximately 6 000 Tunisian
dinars). It prohibits foreign funding for electoral campaigns, except
foreign funding that contributes to campaigns in overseas constituencies.
Vote buying and anonymous donations are also prohibited.
37. The ISIE and the Court of Accounts, in co-ordination with
the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance, are responsible for controlling
campaign financing. All funds received and disbursed must be disclosed
to the Court of Accounts within 45 days of the date of the final
announcement of election results. Candidate lists must also publish
their financial statements in a Tunisian daily newspaper within
two months of the announcement of the final results.
38. According to the law, candidate lists and parties found non-compliant
will face financial, electoral or penal sanctions depending on the
violation. In the case of non-submission of campaign accounts, the
Court of Accounts pronounces financial sanctions amounting to up
to 25 times the spending limit and the dismissal of the elected
candidate. If a party exceeds the electoral expenditure ceiling,
the Court of Accounts imposes financial sanctions proportional to
the excess. If it exceeds the ceiling by 75%, financial sanctions
are accompanied with the dismissal of the elected candidate. If
candidates receive funding from foreign sources and they are not
a qualified overseas constituency candidate, the Court of Accounts
imposes penal sanctions (3-5 years of imprisonment) and dismisses
the elected candidate. If vote buying occurs, the Court of Accounts imposes
a financial sanction (a fine of 1 000-3 000 Tunisian dinars) and
a penal sanction (6 months to 3 years of imprisonment) on whoever
attempts to buy votes.
39. The ISIE reported more than 4 500 violations during the electoral
campaign (posters being torn down or put in illegal places, the
use of political publicity, and unauthorised public campaign events),
but the overwhelming majority of them did not have a substantial
impact on the electoral process.
40. As a matter of fact, many political parties conducted activities
in advance of the campaign period, and considered these activities
as being regular ones (going door-to-door, distributing fliers,
organising political cafés, setting up tents or tables in strategic
locations, etc.). Most large parties released their programmes weeks
before the official start of the campaign. Electoral platforms addressed
similar issues, from the restoration of the State’s authority to
the fight against unemployment. The need for a comprehensive strategy for
fighting terrorism was also a common denominator among many platforms.
41. Generally speaking, the right to freedom of expression and
association was respected. While tensions between parties existed
throughout the electoral period, they did not manifest themselves
during the campaign; even though many electoral events took place
in the same locations simultaneously, this did not lead to altercations.
42. Some interlocutors informed the ad hoc committee about certain
citizens’ concerns linked to the possibility of terrorist acts on
election day and about the possibility of vote-buying, particularly
in rural areas. Also, some claimed that audiovisual and printed
media covered Nidaa Tounes and Ennadha much more than smaller parties
and coalitions.
5. Election day
43. The rules for the voting process were as follows.
Upon entering the polling station, voters were checked for traces
of ink and asked for identification documents. A poll worker then
checked that the voter was registered on the voter list and asked
the voter to sign it. The voter then dipped his or her left index
finger in ink. Voters were then given a ballot paper stamped on
the back in each of the four corners, then guided to an empty polling
booth where the voter had to mark one candidate list and fold the
ballot paper so that the mark remained secret and the stamp was
still visible. The voter then placed the ballot paper in the ballot
box.
44. Voters who were blind or had a physical disability that prevented
them from writing could be accompanied by a spouse or blood relative
who was an eligible voter. If no escort was available, the chairperson
had to ask one of the voters present in the voting station to assist
the voter. Escorts could not assist more than one voter and were
not allowed to influence the choice of the voter.
45. Voting and counting took place at polling stations. Counting
was to begin immediately after polling closed and votes had to be
counted publicly and in the presence of observers and representatives
of the candidate lists. Results from each polling station had to
be posted in a publicly accessible place at the polling station
and then be transmitted to the relevant centres in bags.
46. The ad hoc committee split into five teams which observed
the vote and the counting in Tunis and its outskirts, as well as
in the regions of Sfax, Sousse, Ariana, Bizerte, Mateur, Carthage,
La Marsa, Kairouan and Cap Bon.
47. Polling was generally positive as regards the process and
organisation of election day. The teams did not observe any significant
irregularities. Voting was carried out transparently and in a calm
and orderly atmosphere.
48. Citizen observers and candidate representatives were present
in all polling stations visited, contributing to the transparency
of the process. They appeared well organised and knowledgeable about
the procedures.
49. Closing and counting was less well organised with some polling
staff appearing to be confused about procedures. However, the ad
hoc committee members felt that this had not affected the results.
50. The ad hoc committee was particularly impressed by the way
in which those who did not win displayed political maturity by accepting
the result of the poll, thus helping to move beyond the polarisation
of Tunisian society.
51. The final results were announced by the ISIE on 21 November.
The number of seats in the Assembly of Representatives of the People
are respectively: Nida Tounes, 86 seats; Ennadha, 69 seats; Free
Patriotic Union (UPL), 16 seats; Popular Front, 15 seats; Afek Tounes,
8 seats; Congress for the Republic (CPR), 4 seats; Democratic trend,
Al Moubadara and People’s Movement, 3 seats each; Current of Love
(Mahabba), 2 seats; Al Joumhouri, Democratic Alliance, Movement
of Socialist Democrats, Rad el iîtibar, Farmers’ Voice Party, Al Majd
al-Jerid and National Front of Salvation, 1 seat each.
52. The voter turnout was 67.72%.
6. Conclusions
and recommendations
53. The parliamentary elections of 26 October 2014 marked
a crucial stage in the post-revolution transition of Tunisia. They
were free, inclusive and transparent. The Assembly of the Representatives
of the People that has been elected is genuinely representative
of the people, with the kind of legitimacy required to take necessary
and essential decisions.
54. The ad hoc committee was impressed by the way in which the
electoral administration organised its work and by its interaction
with observers and civil society in the interest of the integrity
of the electoral process. Even though the ISIE had a limited time
frame in which to organise the elections, it managed to carry out
the process without major irregularities.
55. As no democratic process is ever perfect, the ad hoc committee
had some suggestions for possible improvements in future elections,
including:
- the media should
encourage debate and comparison between the different agendas and
policies so that citizens can better understand the challenges,
and make an informed choice on polling day;
- the rules on election campaign financing could be revised
to allow parties to lawfully increase their spending on elections,
while at the same time ensuring absolute transparency regarding
the source of their funds;
- policy makers and the various institutions should continue
their efforts to encourage young people, women and disadvantaged
groups to participate in the electoral process, as the only way
of making their voices heard.
56. The Parliamentary Assembly stands ready to continue to work
with the country’s authorities and the Assembly of the Representatives
of the People to support their efforts on the path to democratisation
and on fulfilling Council of Europe standards.
Appendix 1 – Composition
of the ad hoc committee
(open)
Based on the proposals by the political groups
of the Assembly, the ad hoc committee was composed as follows:
- Andreas GROSS (Switzerland,
SOC), Head of the Delegation
- Socialist Group (SOC)
- Andreas GROSS, Switzerland,
Chairperson
- Ingrid ANTIČEVIĆ-MARINOVIĆ, Croatia
- Carina HÄGG, Sweden
- European Conservatives Group
(EC)
- Reha DENEMEÇ,
Turkey
- Mehmet TEKELIOĞLU, Turkey
- Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
for Europe (ALDE)
- André
BUGNON, Switzerland
- Adele GAMBARO, Italy
- Venice Commission
- Serguei KOUZNETSOV, Head of
Division, Neighbourhood co-operation
- Secretariat
- Bogdan TORCĂTORIU, Administrative
Officer, Interparliamentary Co-operation and Election Observation
Division
- Franck DAESCHLER, Principal Administrative Assistant
Appendix 2 – Programme of
the ad hoc committee (23-27 October 2014)
(open)
Thursday
23 October 2014
14:30-15:30 Meeting of the ad hoc committee:
- Opening of the meeting by Mr
Andreas Gross, Head of Delegation
- Presentation of the recent developments in the field of
electoral legislation and of the activities of the Venice Commission
in Tunisia
- Practical arrangements and logistics, by the Secretariat
16:00-18:00 Meeting with members of the diplomatic corps
19:00 Meeting with representatives of the media
- Dar Assabah, Raja Chaabane
- RTCI/Courrier de l'Atlas, Rached Cherif
- Le Temps, Zied Dabbar
- La vie londonienne, Mehdi Jlassi
- Tuniscope, Abir Feres
- Radio Shems Fm, Feres Khiari
- Mosaïque Fm, Hechem Laamari
Friday 24 October
2014
08:45 Meeting with Mr Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, President of
Tunisia
11:00-11:30 Meeting with Mr Rachid Ghannouchi, President of
Ennahdha
11:45-12:15 Meeting with Mr Ahmed Seddik, Member of the Council,
Popular Front
12:45-13:15 Meeting with Mr Beji Caid Essebsi, President of
Nidaa Tounes
13:30-14:00 Meeting with Mr Mohamed Chafik Sarsar, Chair of
the Independent High Authority for the Elections
16:00-16:30 Meeting with Mr Faouzi Ben Abderrahmane, Co-Founder
of Afek Tounes
16:30-17:00 Meeting with Mr Samir Taieb, Secretary General,
Al Massar
17:00 Meeting with Professor Kais Said, professor of constitutional
law
18:00 Meeting with representatives of NGOs (including domestic
election observer organisations)
Saturday 25 October
2014
08:30-09:30 Presentation by Mr Nicolas Kaczorowski, Director
of the Office of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems
in Tunisia
10:00-11:30 Meeting with Mr Mustapha Ben Jaafar, President
of the National Constituent Assembly
Meeting with Mr José Antonio De Gabriel, Deputy Chief Observer,
European Union Election Observation Mission
Sunday 26 October
2014
Election observation
Monday 27 October
2014
08:00-09:00 Debriefing of the ad hoc committee
11:00 Press conference
Appendix 3 – Statement by
the ad hoc committee
(open)
The parliamentary
elections in Tunisia were exemplary and mark the end of a crucial
stage in the post-revolution transition
“I would like to congratulate the Tunisian people on the outstanding
quality of the electoral process, marking a crucial stage in the
post-revolution transition”, said Andreas Gross, head of the delegation
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which
observed the parliamentary elections in Tunisia on 26 October 2014.
“The elections were free, inclusive and transparent. The Assembly
of the Representatives of the People that has been elected is genuinely
representative of the people, with the kind of legitimacy required to
take necessary and essential decisions, in the national interest,”
he added.
The delegation wishes to draw attention to the exemplary nature
of the elections and hopes that those who did not win will display
the same political maturity as ordinary citizens by accepting the
result of the poll, thus not only contributing to the swift establishment
of the new legislature but also helping to move beyond the polarisation
of Tunisian society.
The delegation was impressed by the way in which the electoral
administration organised its work and by its interaction with observers
and civil society in the interest of the integrity of the election
on 26 October 2014.
Clearly, no democratic process is ever perfect and the PACE
delegation has some suggestions for possible improvements in future
elections, including notably the following.
The media should encourage debate and comparison between the
different agendas and policies so that citizens can better understand
the challenges, and make an informed choice on polling day.
The rules on election campaign financing could be revised
to allow parties to lawfully increase their spending on elections,
while at the same time ensuring absolute transparency regarding
the source of their funds.
Policy makers and the various institutions should continue
their efforts to encourage young people, women and disadvantaged
groups to participate in the electoral process, as the only way
of making their voices heard.
The 10-member PACE delegation was in Tunisia from 22 to 27
October. During that time, it met with the President of Tunisia,
the President of the National Constituent Assembly, the Chair of
the Independent High Authority for the Elections (ISIE), the leaders
of the main political parties and also representatives of the media and
civil society, the diplomatic corps and international organisations.
On election day itself, the delegation was split into five teams
which observed the polling in and around Tunis and in the regions
of Sfax, Sousse, Ariana, Bizerte, Mateur, Carthage, La Marsa, Kairouan
and Cap Bon.
The Assembly will continue to actively assist its Tunisian
partners in their efforts to democratise Tunisia. Another delegation
will visit the country to observe the first round of the presidential
election on 23 November 2014, and the Assembly will debate the two
reports on the elections in Tunisia at its January 2015 part-session in
Strasbourg.