Elections in March not possible

Kamal Jendoubi Tunis – Nabil Zaghdoud Head of the Tunisian Independent Electoral Commission, Kamal Jendoubi, said that it is impossible to hold general elections in March 2013, a date previously approved by the ruling coalition. In an interview with Arabstoday, Jendoubi said that the next election will be a decisive moment for the country and will be organised amid conditions which are more difficult than the October 2011 elections. "We are talking about building institutions that will lead the country in the future, from the transition phase to democracy. Next March is not fixed yet, so it creates a kind of restlessness and gives the impression of uncertainty and lack of precision about the Tunisian situation," Jendoubi said. Tunisian President, Moncef Marzouki, announced in a speech to the nation, that the ruling coalition must agree on a clear road map based on fixed and specific dates, most notably the completion of the draft Constitution of Tunisia next October and the general elections in March 2013. Commenting on his plans, Jendoubi said “the government should take into consideration before determining the date of the next elections the difficulties that may hover around the electoral process, in addition to the initial conditions necessary for the success of the electoral series, which begin with the voter’s registration and end with the polling day," he explained. He continued: “The date of the election should be constant, and everyone should be confident in the path which the country is walking through," calling for an end to the controversy over the election date. “We wasted a lot of time and we lost a lot of energy from previous elections. We made a series of proposals that are essential, which can clarify the legal parameters of a new body to oversee the coming election.