Chahed Observatory reports violations of electoral silence in many polling stations

The Chahed Observatory has logged several electoral offences during the run-off local elections. Some of these offences could be classified as electoral crimes, such as the influence exerted by candidate representatives or their relatives on the voters' choice inside or around polling centres, or the presence of candidates in polling centres, according to the Observatory. In a press conference held on Monday, Chahed Observatory's Executive Director Naceur Harabi said that observers had noted violation cases of electoral silence in many polling stations across the different regions as some candidates continued campagning in and around polling centres in several electoral districts. In the North Khamouda polling centre in Kasserine governorate, a candidate's representative was inserting the ballot papers himself into the ballot box without any reaction from the president of the polling station, he added. The official further reported the absence of some polling station members at the opening of polling cen tres, the lack of training for polling station members in several centres, the restrictions imposed on observers and the ban on some observers entering polling centres on the pretext that their accreditation cards were invalid. The Observatory had deployed on Sunday 44 coordinators and 255 observers in the different constituencies nationwide, i.e. and average of 1 observer for each delegation. The Observatory further pointed to the importance of taking its observations and recommendations into consideration and of prosecuting the perpetrators of electoral crimes, whether during the electoral campaign, the period of electoral silence or during the voting and counting process. All minutes recorded by ISIE's sworn agents must be published, Mnasri underlined, adding that he undertakes to improve the quality of the training provided to heads and members of polling stations. He further called for the revision of laws on elections and the adoption of a law defining the responsibilities of local councils as soon as possible. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse