Kaïs Saïed Emphasizes the Need for a New Legal Framework for Municipalities
The President of Tunisia, Kaïs Saïed, has stressed the importance of establishing a new legal framework for municipalities to ensure responsible elected officials and effective governance that prioritizes citizen-centric services, free from partisan struggles.
A New Era for Local Governance
On November 14, at the Carthage Palace, President Kaïs Saïed received Farouk Bouasker, President of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), to discuss the authority's 2024 activity and financial report. The President recalled that the process initiated on July 25, 2021, had saved the state and responded to the people's will. The meeting highlighted the need to prepare for the upcoming municipal elections, which can only take place after the adoption of a new law reforming the legal framework of municipal councils.
The Need for a New Code of Local Collectivities
The President's announcement, reiterated once again, emphasizes the necessity of elaborating a new code of local collectivities before organizing the next municipal elections. This move is part of a deliberate political dynamic aimed at refounding local governance in light of the dysfunctions observed between 2018 and 2021.
A Much-Needed Overhaul of the Legal Framework
In April 2025, the President had already described the current Code of Local Collectivities, resulting from the 2015 and 2017 reforms, as a "true source of corruption." Tunisians have not forgotten the disappointment caused by the last municipal elections, marked by mayors more aligned with party interests than those of citizens. The texts of this code had also weakened the state by granting municipalities unregulated autonomy, prone to abuse and institutional blockages.
The Previous Legal Framework: A Recipe for Disaster
The pre-dissolution legal framework of municipal councils did not guarantee administrative efficiency, territorial cohesion, or elected officials' accountability. Hence, the need for a new text, conceived not as a simple technical adjustment but as an act of institutional reconstruction.
The President's Argument
The President's argument is based on a widely criticized assessment of the previous municipal experience. Between 2018 and 2021, several municipal councils were paralyzed by internal conflicts, serial resignations, or confrontations between politicized blocs. In many communes, council presidents were accused of acting in the service of the political parties that had brought them to power, rather than responding to the real needs of citizens.
The Consequences of Excessive Politicization
This excessive politicization had several consequences, including fragmented local governance, sometimes unable to make basic management decisions, prioritizing partisan agendas over structural issues, and a loss of citizen trust, tired of incessant political squabbles.
Local Governance: A Prolongation of National Political Struggles
Local governance was perceived, in several regions, as an extension of national political struggles, rather than a space for proximity and resolution of daily problems. In addition to political drift, structural problems persisted, including poor public cleanliness management, accumulation of waste, lack of modern planning, slow administrative procedures, and corruption scandals.
Towards a Repenssed Local Governance
Since the dissolution of municipal councils by presidential decision, Tunisia has been living in a situation of provisional management relying on special delegations. However, this transitional formula cannot be eternal. The challenges the country currently faces in terms of cleanliness, urban management, infrastructure, and basic services require elected and responsible institutions. This explains the President's insistence, during his meeting with the ISIE President on November 14, on the need to prepare for future municipal elections and adopt a new law.
A New Electoral System
For the President, it is not about quickly organizing an election but about organizing one that does not reproduce the same mistakes of the past. The future electoral system must logically strengthen the direct link between the voter and their representative, reduce the influence of partisan apparatuses at the local level, and guarantee permanent accountability.
A Municipal System at the Service of Citizens
In other words, the objective is to establish a municipality that serves the inhabitants, not a platform for partisan alliances. This reform project is part of a broader vision, that of a participatory democracy where the electoral process is not limited to the vote on election day but redefines the relationship between citizens, elected officials, and institutions in depth.
A New Model for Local Governance
By combining legal reform, overhaul of the electoral system, and combating past drifts, President Saïed aims to establish a model based on efficiency, responsibility, and national cohesion. Tunisia is thus preparing to turn a page, hoping that the next municipal experience will be synonymous with strengthened local governance and public services, finally, up to the expectations of citizens.
