Electoral law raises controversy
Fears of reducing Tunisian women's chances of reaching parliament
Tunisian women are fighting for more rights.
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Pressure on President Kais Saied to respect the rights of Tunisian women.
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Activists and human rights organizations in Tunisia expressed their fears of a decline in women's seats in parliament with the adoption of a new electoral law for the upcoming December 17 elections, imposing the voting system on individuals instead of lists.
While the electoral law in three previous elections that followed the 2011 revolution guaranteed an acceptable attendance rate for women in the Tunisian parliament, the new amendments included in the electoral law in President Kais Saied’s decree make the minimum threatening in the eyes of his critics.
Tunisia prides itself on being among the first countries to grant advanced and liberating rights to women since the fifties of the last century with the establishment of the state of independence.
parity
The new constitution presented by President Qais Saeed after announcing the exceptional measures in the country a year ago, and ratified in a popular referendum on July 25, indicates that “the state seeks to achieve parity between women and men in the elected councils,” but this rule will be in doubt on the Ground.
A former deputy in parliament and a member of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, Bouchra Belhaj Hamida, told the German news agency (dpa), that "the law blew up all previous gains, it will exclude vulnerable groups, women and youth, and only those with money will be able to ascend to parliament." ».
The principle of gender parity in the electoral lists in the 2014 elections enabled women to win more than 34% of parliament seats, which is among the highest in the world, and in 2019 the percentage decreased to 26%.
However, with the individual voting system established by President Kais Saied, the chances of achieving similar percentages are not guaranteed.
The law poses another challenge to female candidates, as they, like male candidates, must collect at least 400 votes from voters.
Punishment against women
The president of the Tunisian Association of Constitutional Law, Salwa Hamrouni, told the private radio station Shams FM, "The requirement to collect the recommendations equally between men and women is a punishment against women, as the task will be difficult for women, because their access to public space is more difficult compared to men." ».
A coalition of 10 feminist organizations, which calls itself “Feminist Dynamic” in a commentary on the electoral law, clarified that “the reliance of the voting system on individuals without regulating guarantees that allow women to broad and effective participation, is a grave breach of the provisions of Article 51 of the new constitution.”
With the law's approval of eliminating public funding for electoral campaigns, the organizations warned in a joint statement against opening the door to excluding women from candidacy in exchange for enhancing the opportunities of "people of prestige and money based on kinship relations and on patronage and clientelism."
"The new electoral law will fuel (tribal) conflicts, and whoever has the money will win," Belhaj Hemida told DPA.
Tunisia is proud of being among the first countries to grant advanced and liberating rights to women since the fifties of the last century with the establishment of the state of independence.
The coalition of "Feminist Dynamics" asserts that the reliance of the voting system on individuals without regulating guarantees that allow women to participate broadly and effectively, is a grave breach of the provisions of Article 51 of the new constitution.
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