The plenary session of the Assembly of the People’s Representatives (ARP), dedicated to examining the draft rules of procedure of the ARP, on Thursday, passed “controversial” Article 4, which deals with the declaration of assets and conflicts of interest of MPs. The text of that article was approved after a major amendment, which states that it is “impossible” for ARP members to declare their assets and interests because there is no entity authorised to receive such declarations. The amendment to Article 4 was adopted after a vote in which 95 deputies voted in favour, 3 abstained and 4 voted against. The draft Article 4, as adopted by the plenary, reads as follows “Each Member shall declare his assets in accordance with Article 20 of the Constitution. Each Member shall also declare any conflicts of interest relating to his or her parliamentary activities. ” Members cannot be considered to have refrained from making their declarations in the face of a procedural impossibility and the impossibility of submitting declarations to the national anti-corruption authority due to the suspension of its activities under the exceptional measures. Once the obstacle has been removed, Members are obliged to declare their assets and interests. Asked for more details on Article 4, MP Abderrazek Aouidat told TAP that MPs are obliged to declare their assets, but given the suspension of work of the national anti-corruption authority, there is no body competent to rule on these declarations, especially as the Court of Auditors is not competent to do so. The MP added: “we asked the administration of the Parliament to provide us with a document similar to the one used by the Anti-Corruption Agency to receive declarations of assets, but it refused because it does not have the capacity to act in this matter. ” It was the same for the Prime Ministry, which in turn refused to receive the declarations of the MPs for lack of competence, which made it impossible for the deputies to apply the law, he added to TAP. The national anti-corruption authority was dissolved in August 2021 by decision of President Kais Said.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse