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Tunisia Announces Three Dates for Upcoming Elections

The head of the Independent High Authority for Elections in a meeting to set the upcoming electoral dates. (Independent High Authority for Elections)
The head of the Independent High Authority for Elections in a meeting to set the upcoming electoral dates. (Independent High Authority for Elections)
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Tunisia Announces Three Dates for Upcoming Elections

The head of the Independent High Authority for Elections in a meeting to set the upcoming electoral dates. (Independent High Authority for Elections)
The head of the Independent High Authority for Elections in a meeting to set the upcoming electoral dates. (Independent High Authority for Elections)

The Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) in Tunisia has unveiled the initial dates for holding the presidential, local, and municipal elections.

The ISIE stressed that a detailed calendar is being prepared to stage the elections on the time agreed, adding that the move would resume the political path suggested by Tunisian President Kais Saeid in 2021.

The official spokesman for the Authority, Muhammad Al-Talili Al-Mansari, said that Tunisia is currently in the preparation phase for the municipal elections, which he considered a priority at the current time, in addition to the elections of the National Council of Regions and Districts expected in October, and presidential elections expected in 2024.

As for the reason behind choosing October, Mansari remarked that the date takes into consideration the social stability of the Tunisian families and the return of the Tunisian diaspora to their work abroad, in addition to the weather that is usually adequate at that time of the year.

Adel Al-Barinsi, a former member of the ISIE, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ISIE led by Farouk Bouasker should contact the parliament led by Ibrahim Bouderbala to fill the vacuum in the current parliament seats and determine a date for a partial parliamentary election.

The current parliament still has a vacancy in seven seats dedicated to Tunisians abroad, in which only 154 out of 161 MPs were elected due to the difficulty of organizing the process as no one ran for those elections.

Barinsi added that the ISIE is likely to be put under pressure pertaining to its impartiality and independence toward all social and political parties running for the elections, as well as regarding the financial resources sufficient for the success of the elections.

One voting station could cost the state’s treasury around 40 million dinars ($13.4 million), added Barinsi.

Mansari affirmed that it is early to speak about the presidential elections, adding that the Authority considers them regular elections scheduled for fall 2024 based on the elections law for 2014.

Several political activists have announced their intention to run for the presidential elections for 2024, including the President of the “Third Republic” party Olfa Hamdi, and the President of the New Carthage Movement Nizar Al-Shari.

Also, several political parties including Democratic Current and Workers' Party are preparing for the presidential elections by holding conferences and electing new political figures that can compete with Saeid.

 

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Syria Extends the Deadline for a Probe into Coastal Unrest

A man takes a picture with his mobile phone as people gather to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the chemical attack for the first time after the fall of the Assad government in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP)
A man takes a picture with his mobile phone as people gather to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the chemical attack for the first time after the fall of the Assad government in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP)
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Syria Extends the Deadline for a Probe into Coastal Unrest

A man takes a picture with his mobile phone as people gather to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the chemical attack for the first time after the fall of the Assad government in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP)
A man takes a picture with his mobile phone as people gather to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the chemical attack for the first time after the fall of the Assad government in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP)

Syria’s presidency announced on Friday that it would extend a probe into the killings of Alawite civilians in coastal areas that left scores dead after clashes between government forces and armed groups loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks.

The violence erupted on March 6 after Assad loyalists ambushed patrols of the new government, prompting armed groups to launch coordinated assaults on Latakia, Baniyas, and other coastal areas.

The violence brought fear of a renewed civil war and threatened to open an endless cycle of vengeance, driving thousands of Alawites to flee their homes, with an estimated 30,000 seeking refuge in northern Lebanon.

On March 9, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa formed a fact-finding committee and gave it 30 days to report its findings and identify perpetrators. In a decree published late Thursday, Sharaa said the committee had requested more time and was granted a three-month non-renewable extension.

The committee’s spokesperson, Yasser Farhan, said in a statement on Friday that the committee has recorded 41 sites where killings took place, each forming the basis for a separate case and requiring more time to gather evidence. He said some areas remained inaccessible due to time constraints, but that residents had cooperated, despite threats from pro-Assad remnants.

In a report published on April 3, Amnesty International said its probe into the killings concluded that at least 32 of more than 100 people killed in the town of Baniyas were deliberately targeted on sectarian grounds — a potential war crime.

The rights organization welcomed the committee’s formation but stressed it must be independent, properly resourced, and granted full access to burial sites and witnesses to conduct a credible investigation. It also said the committee should be granted “adequate time to complete the investigation.”