Local elections: Court of Audit demands financial statements from candidates

The Court of Audit called on candidates in the 1st round of the 2023 local elections to submit their financial statements for these elections before March 8, 2024. The Court of Audit said in a press release on Thursday that this reminder is intended for all candidates in the first round, held on December 24, 2023, including those who had won seats on local councils. The Court warned in this regard, that candidates who fail to file the required financial documents by the deadline are liable to the penalties provided for in Article 98 of Organic Law 2017-16. Article 98 (new) provides that "if the financial statement of a list, candidate or party is not filed in accordance with the procedures and within the deadlines set out in article 86 of this law, the Court of Audit shall impose a fine equal to three times the maximum amount of electoral funding in the relevant constituency." The candidate's financial statement includes the bank statement of the single account opened for the election campaign and a list of election expenses signed by the candidate and the financial agent. This list must be drawn up in compliance with the model made available to candidates by the Court of Audit, states the press release. The Court also asks candidates to submit a detailed list of activities and meetings organised during the local election campaign. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse