Tunisia: LTDH reports infringements but with no impact on elections
Published on Mon, 2011-10-31 07:28
A preliminary report on the elections of the National Constituent Assembly drawn up by the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH, one of the focal points of Social Watch in this arab country) revealed the existence of infringements and shortcomings during the polls and the vote counting, noting, however, that they had not impacted on the electoral process, according to Tunisian News Agency (TAP). During a news conference held Saturday in Tunis to present this report, He reviewed, in this regard, all the infringements made in the election campaign, particularly political money and campaigns in mosques and places of worship, as well as pertaining to the period set for the campaign which continued on the day of election silence. The co-ordinator and member of the steering committee of LTDH Ali Zeddini confirmed the existence of breaches on the day of election, particularly the attempts by some parties to buy votes, the belonging of some members of polling stations to parties and the existence of family relationships between some candidates and members of polling stations that were used for the propaganda. He also pointed to the overcrowding recorded in polling stations which prevented some citizens from voting. Regarding vote counting, Ali Zeddini said the Observatory noted the absence of tickets' observers, the lack of organisation and conflicts among members of polling stations, which impacted negatively on the progress of counting. He also underlined the existence of several spoilt votes, particularly because some voters, notably illiterate among them, were unable to fill in the ballot paper. However, LTDH’s observatory considered that the elections of the Constituent Assembly took place in conformity with the law and international standards. In this regard, 1,300 surveys out of a total of 8,000 carried out by observers present nationwide signalled the respect of the opening hours of polling stations, the running of elections in total calm and the respect by most of the candidate tickets of legal procedures related to the code of ethics. LTDH’s observatory mobilised 3,800 observers accredited by the IHAE and distributed nationwide to monitor the elections. More information Source
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