We are laying the foundation stone for a new edifice that takes into account the aspirations of the people, said President of the Republic Kais Saied as he cast Sunday his vote in local elections at the primary school of Mnihla 1 (Ariana) along with his wife.
“The elected officials will be held accountable before voters who can withdraw confidence from them if they fail to meet their demands,” the President also said.
“This new edifice is in harmony with the revolutionary process and these elections are a historic milestone that will enable voters to be decision-makers and monitor the process,” The Head of State highlighted.
The National Council of Regions and Districts, the second parliamentary chamber, he explained, would represent all citizens in order to achieve complementarity between the Tunisian people’s various components.
It was created with this in mind, given that the first chamber was not fully representative of the aspirations of all Tunisians.
Local elected representatives will thus be c
lose to their fellow citizens, conveying their aspirations and concerns and working to achieve them at the level of the Regional Council, the District Council and the National Council of Regions and Districts.
“Today, we are living through an historic experience that will empower marginalised people, who are unable to make their voices heard, to contribute to decision-making, to shape legislation and to demand accountability,” the Head of State pointed out.
The elected members of the National Council of Regions and Districts will, in turn, shoulder their responsibilities before their constituents. The latter will then be able to withdraw their confidence in them if they fail in their duties.
“We are going to work to clean up the State, to purge it of the corrupts who have plagued it for decades, to rebuild and finalize the institutions mentioned in the Constitution, such as the Higher Council for Education and Teaching and the Constitutional Court.”
“Tunisia is a unified country and will remain so,” asser
ted President Saïed, stating his conviction that the country is “on the right track.”
He underlined that the local council elections would show the aspirations of the people and meet their expectations.
“This people who rose up on December 17, 2010, in the interior regions, triggering a revolution which then spread to the capital, more precisely the La Kasbah,” he said.
The local elections will therefore express the will of these Tunisians who, today, will cast their votes at the ballot box, starting from the grassroots (local councils) and culminating in the National Council of Regions and Districts, he added.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse