Legal and constitutional initiatives in Tunisia strengthen the foundation of the Republic

Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on May 13, 2003 finalized the constitutional law concerning the introduction of special rules on chapter 40 of the constitution of the Republic of Tunisia with the objective of expanding the chances for nomination for the presidential elections which will be held in 2004.

In another parallel presidential initiative, President Ben Ali on May 21 presided over a cabinet meeting dedicated to discuss a basic project on completing the "elections magazine" so as to apt the constitutional reform. The project of the electoral magazine included amendments covered 45 chapters and adding such number of new chapters was necessitated by conditions and ways by which members of the consultants council will be elected. A matter which will foster the already multilateral parliament.

Among other objectives of the project of the electoral magazine is to ensure the system of continued revision of election lists, to notify citizens about them.

Before President Ben Ali stamped the finalization of the constitutional law on introducing special rules on chapter 40 of the constitution, the parliament on May 6, 2003 ratified in a second reading of this draft constitutional law which has introduced another qualitative addition to the fundamental constitutional reform by which people took part in the referendum of May 26, 2002.

By this recent constitutional amendment and other previous political reforms and initiatives, the ruling system in Tunisia would have perpetuated the process of honoring the will of people and giving up the idea of "presidency for life" principle used to be enacted in the country according to the constitution before November 7, 1987. By this change, the chance will be given for five opposition political parties at the parliament in addition to the the ruling constitutional party ( al-Tajamu al-Distouri) to be nominated for the presidential elections of 2004.