Tunisia - The Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Kamel Madouri on behalf of President Kais Saied, approved on Thursday at the Kasbah a draft organic law on local, regional and district councils.

The draft law aims to regulate the powers of local, regional and district councils and the relationship between them and the National Council of Regions and Districts in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VII of the Constitution, according to a statement from the Prime Ministry.

The local council elections were held on December 24, 2023, the run-off on February 4, 2024 and the first session on March 1 of the same year.

On March 2, 2024, the drawing of lots for the membership of the regional councils took place in all the governorates of the republic, to be set up later (March 6, 2024), and the election of the members of the regional councils took place on March 13, 2024.

The provisional results of the elections to the National Council of Regions and Districts were announced on March 28. These results were ratified on April 3, 2024, and the inaugural session of the Council was held at the invitation of the President of the Republic on April 19, 2024.

During the local council elections in December 2023, there were calls for a law to clarify the powers, duties and privileges of local council members.

At the time, members of the Electoral Commission stressed that there was no legislative vacuum due to the existence of Law No. 87 of July 26, 1994 on the establishment of local development councils and Organic Law No. 29 of May 9, 2018 on the Local Communities Code, indicating that they were still in force and had not been repealed or amended, but that it was necessary to issue an organic law regulating the powers of these councils.

© Tap 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).