At Stake in this Election: 

• All 161 seats of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People of the Republic of Tunisia 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Kais SAIED (since 23 Oct 2019) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Najla BOUDEN (since 11 Oct 2021) 

• Assembly: A 161-seat Assembly of the Representatives of the People 

Electoral System:  

• The President is elected in a two-round system. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes cast during the first round, a second round with the two candidates who received the highest votes shall be held within two weeks of the announcement of the results of the first round. They are elected to a five-year term, with a limit of two terms.  

• The prime minister is appointed by the president. Generally, it is the nominee of the winning party in the parliamentary election or the one that holds the largest number of seats in the assembly.   

• The new Constitution adopted by referendum on July 25, 2022 changed the legislature from a unicameral to a bicameral system.  

• The upper chamber, the National Assembly of Regions and Districts (NARD) will be elected indirectly on a date yet to be determined. Members of the NARD are designated by directly elected regional councils. 

• The lower chamber, the 161 members of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, are elected in single-member constituencies via the two-round system.  

• Note: This is the first time Tunisia’s elections have been run this way. On September 15, 2022, President Kais Saied introduced a new electoral system that moved away from party lists and toward individual elections. This law also abolished public funding for elections, meaning all candidates must support themselves or find outside funding. He also reduced the number of members of the Assembly from 217 to 161.    

Last Election 

• In 2019, no party won a majority; however, Ennahdha won the most seats (52) with the next party, Qalb Tounes (Heart of Tunisia), winning 38. 

• Since then, Tunisia has held a constitutional referendum, as well as passed a law that would change how elections are held.  

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 24 Oct 2022 

• Voter registration deadline: n/a (automatic registration)  

Main Parties in this Election:  

• No party will be competing in these elections as Decree Law 55 amending Electoral law 2014-16 changed the electoral system from a closed list proportional representation system to a two-round majoritarian system.  

• The High Independent Authority for Elections (ISIE) accepted 1,055 candidates, including 173 women. Elections were competed in only 154 of the 161 electoral districts. 

• 1,052 candidates were from the 151 constituencies in Tunisia, and three were from three constituencies abroad.  

• Seven of the 10 overseas electoral districts had no candidates. By-elections will need to be organized at a later stage for these remaining seven districts.  

• 10 constituencies registered only one candidate.  

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 11,896,972 (2022 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 9,136,502 (2022) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 5,900,178 (2020 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 24 Jul 1980, Ratified 20 Sep 1985 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 57 out of 217 (26.3%) 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: Rank 197 at 0.731 (High) (2021)  

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 0.1986 (Medium) (2014) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 Mar 2007, Ratified 02 Apr 2008 

• Projected population with a disability: 1,784,546 (2022 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Tunisia: Yes, Country Office  

• Election FAQs: Yes