Government & politics — Tunisia

• history: several previous; latest - draft published by the president 30 June 2022, approved by referendum 25 July 2022,
• and adopted 27 July 2022 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by one third of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People membership; following review by the Constitutional Court, approval to proceed requires an absolute majority vote by the Assembly and final passage requires a two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; the president can opt to submit an amendment to a referendum, which requires an absolute majority of votes cast for passage

• chief of state: Pr
• esident Kais SAIED (since 23 October 2019) head of government: Prime
• Minister Sarra ZAAFRANI Zenzri (since 21 March 2025) cabinet: prime minister appointed by the president; cabinet members appointed by the president in cons
• ultation with the prime minister election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-yea
• r term (eligible for a second term) most recent election date: 6
• October 2024 election results: 2024: Kais SAIED reelected president in first round - Kais SAIED (independent) 90.7%, Ayachi ZAMMEL (Long Live Tunisia) 7.3%, Zouhair MAGHZAOUI (People's Movement) 2% 2019: Kais SAIED elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Kais SAIED (independent) 18.4%, Nabil KAROUI (Heart of Tunisia) 15.6%, Abdelfattah MOUROU (Nahda Movement) 12.9%, Abdelkrim ZBIDI (independent) 10.7%, Youssef CHAHED (Long Live Tunisia) 7.4%, Safi SAID (independent) 7.1%, Lotfi MRAIHI (Republican People's Union) 6.6%, other 21.3%; percent of vote in second round - Kais SAIED 72.7%, Nabil KAROUI 27.3%
• expected date of next election: 2029
• note: the president can dismiss any member of government on his own initiative or in consultation with the prime minister

Description

bicameral legislature (enacted by the 2022 constitution) consists of: newly added National Council of Regions and Districts (Le Conseil National des regions et des districts); (77 seats; members appointed by municipal-level councils; members of each Regional Council elect 3 members among themselves to the National Council; each District Council elects 1 member among themselves to the National Council; members serve 5-year term) Assembly of Representatives of the People (161 seats; 151 members in single seat constituencies and 10 members from Tunisian diaspora directly elected by majoritarian two-round voting system; all members serve 5-year terms)

Elections

National Council of Regions and Districts - last held on 24 December 2023 for 279 local councils, which will indirectly elect the National Council (next to be held in 2028) Assembly of Representatives of the People - last held on 17 December 2022 with a runoff on 29 January 2023 (next to be held in late 2027)

• election results:

Note

in 2022, President SAIED issued a new electoral law, which required all legislative candidates to run as independents

• highest court(s): Court of Cassation (consists of the first president, chamber presidents, and magistrates and organized into 27 civil
• and 11 criminal chambers) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council, an independent 4-part body consisting mainly of elected judges and the remainder legal specialists; judge tenure based on terms of appointment; Constitutional Court (established in the 2014 and 2022 constitutions, but inception has been delayed; note - in mid-February 2022, President SAIED dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and replaced it w
• ith an interim council in early March 2022 subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; administrative courts; Court of Audit; Housing Court; courts of first instance; lower district courts;
• military courts note: the Tunisian constitution of January 2014 called for the establishment of a constitutional court by the end of 2015, but the court was never formed; the new constitution of July 2022 calls for the establishment of a constitutional court consisting of 9 members appointed by presidential decree; members to include former senior judges of other courts

24 governorates (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), L'Ariana (Aryanah), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bouzid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan)

• Afek Tounes [Rym MAHJOUB]
• Al Badil Al-Tounisi (The Tunisian Alternative) [Mehdi JOMAA]
• Al-Amal Party [Salma ELLOUMIJ]
• Call for Tunisia Party (Nidaa Tounes) [Ali HAFSI]
• Current of Love [Hachemi HAMDI] (formerly the Popular Petition party)
• Democratic Current [Ghazi CHAOUACHI]
• Democratic Patriots' Unified Party [Zied LAKHDHAR]
• Dignity Coalition or Al Karama Coalition [Seifeddine MAKHLOUF]
• Ennahda Movement (The Renaissance) [Rached GHANNOUCHI]
• Ettakatol Party [Khalil ZAOUIA]
• Free Destourian Party or PDL [Abir MOUSSI]
• Green Tunisia Party [Abdelkader ZITOUNI]
• Harakat Hak [Mohsen MARZOUK]
• Heart of Tunisia (Qalb Tounes) [Nabil KAROUI]
• July 25 Movement [Thameur BDIDA]
• Labor and Achievement Party [Abdellatif MEKKI]
• Long Live Tunisia (Tahya Tounes) [Youssef CHAHED]
• Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS [Ahmed KHASKHOUSSI]
• National Coalition Party [Neji JALLOUL]
• National Salvation Front [Ahmed Nejib CHEBBI]
• New Carthage Party [Nizar CHAARI]
• Party of the Democratic Arab Vanguard [Kheireddine SOUABNI]
• People's Movement [Zouheir MAGHZAOUI]
• Republican Party (Al Joumhouri) [Issam CHEBBI]
• The Movement Party (Hizb Harak) [Moncef MARZOUKI]
• Third Republic Party [Olfa HAMDI]
• Tunisian Ba'ath Movement [Othmen Bel Haj AMOR]
• Voice of the Republic [Ali HAFSI]
• Workers' Party [Hamma HAMMAMI]
• Note: President SAIED in 2022 issued a decree that forbids political parties' participation in legislative elections; although parties remain a facet of Tunisian political life, they have lost significant influence

18 years of age; universal except for active government security forces (including the police and the military), people with mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended sentence of more than six months

• no citizenship by descent only: at least one pa
• yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AIIB, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), CAEU, CD, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Joey HOOD (since 2 February 2023) embassy: Les Berges du Lac, 1053 Tunis mailing address: 6360 Tunis Place, Washington DC 20521-6360

telephone

[216] 71-107-000

FAX

[216] 71-107-090

Email address and website

• tuniswebsitecontact@state.gov
• https://tn.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador Hanene TAJOURI BESSASSI (since 1 December 2021)

chancery

1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005

telephone

[1] (202) 862-1850

FAX

[1] (202) 862-1858

Email address and website

• AT.Washington@Tunisiaembassy.org
• https://www.tunisianembassy.org/