Skip links
Farouk Bouasker

About

Position: President of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE). Period: Since 2021, specifically after July 25

Tasks and cases: Farouk Bouasker supervised the elections and referendum on the new constitution in July 2022, which took place amid accusations of electoral violations in favor of President Kais Saied. His duties included organizing the elections and monitoring the electoral process, but he contributed to manipulating electoral laws in favor of the existing regime and led the “legal battle” against the administrative court that reinstated serious competitors to President Saied in the electoral race and added new powers to the powers of the electoral authority.

Relations: He was able to build strong relationships with political leaders supporting President Saied, which allowed him to control the electoral process in favor of the referendum, parliamentary elections, and the 2024 presidential elections.

Human Rights Violations

  • Electoral violations: Bouasker faced accusations of allowing President Saied to publish propaganda in support of the constitutional referendum outside the legal frameworks permitted, including violating the electoral silence period.
  • Engaging in political propaganda: He cooperated with the regime to promote the new constitution through official media outlets, including publishing “explanatory memoranda” directed at public opinion on the importance of voting “yes” in the referendum.
  • Exploiting his position to monopolize opinion and violate the internal laws of the commission, such as publishing laws in the Official Gazette without presenting them to the commission’s council.

Complaints & Lawsuits

  • Local and international lawsuits:
    • Locally: “I Watch” filed a lawsuit against Bouasker and President Saied on charges of violating electoral law and administrative corruption during the referendum campaign.
    • Internationally: The Observatory is collecting evidence and testimonies to file international complaints against Farouk Bouasker to the following bodies and institutions:
      • The United Nations: Submitting complaints to the United Nations Human Rights Council to inform them of the violations that threaten the integrity of the elections and affect the rights of citizens.
      • The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Union: As a prominent figure responsible for electoral manipulation, the Observatory will file a complaint with the African Court.
      • The European Union: The Observatory will submit a detailed report to the European Union and international electoral oversight bodies to expose the violations and ensure Tunisia’s commitment to international standards for free and fair elections.
      • International human rights organizations: The Observatory will write to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to highlight the violations and pressure the Tunisian government to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

These steps will help draw the attention of international bodies to the importance of holding those responsible for electoral violations accountable and exposing the violations that affect the future of democracy in Tunisia by no later than December 31 of this year.

Sources

عربية
Français
Icon-x Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

Call to Action

Website petition: Freedom for prisoners of conscience and activists in Tunisia!

Tunisia is no longer the Arab exception that inspired the world in 2011 with a heroic revolution that overthrew the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled for nearly 23 years after seizing power on November 7, 1987, in a coup against Habib Bourguiba.

In a similar and perhaps more dangerous move, on the night of July 25, 2021, Tunisian President Kais Saied carried out a “constitutional coup” in accordance with his personal interpretation of Article 80 of the 2014 Revolutionary Constitution, announcing that he had taken a set of exceptional measures due to the “imminent danger” that threatens Tunisia without providing any details or reasons.

In accordance with these measures, Saied dismissed the government and the prime minister Hichem Mechichi who was present at the National Security Council that night at the Carthage Palace, and claimed that he had contacted the Speaker of Parliament Rached Ghannouchi (leader of the Ennahdha party) to consult with him in accordance with what is stipulated by the constitution, a claim which Ghannouchi denied since the call was general and did not include anything about exceptional measures or any consultation on the matter. The president suspended Parliament and later dissolved it in March 2022.

Not only did Saied seek to bypass his powers and the articles of the Constitution, which he swore to protect before the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, but he went on to dismiss and change the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council after redefining the judiciary it as a “function” rather than an independent authority. He further replaced members of the Supreme Electoral Commission in preparation for the referendum he held in order to vote on a constitution that he wrote himself after dismissing the proposals of the drafting committee he had himself appointed. Then legislative elections were held over two rounds, in which the participation rate did not exceed 8% of the total number of voters, with the Election Commission later announcing that it had reached 11%, which is the lowest participation rate in Tunisia and globally.

On February 11, President Saied’s regime launched a campaign of protests that has not stopped since, against political leaders, media figures, journalists, judges and senior officials and civil servants, for charges of “conspiring against the security of the state and committing an offensive act against the President of the Republic,” in addition to other charges that were referred to the military prosecution, leading one to wonder about the implication of the Tunisian army in the actions taken by Saied.

The arbitrary arrests were marred by several procedural violations amid criticism from prominent international organizations and observatories in the field of human rights. The standards of litigation and detention period and conditions were not respected. Prosecution and harassment sometimes extended to the detainees’ families, and no evidence, and in many cases, no charges against them were presented.

Moreover trade unions and political parties continue to be subjected to constant harassment and restrictions. Saied continues to target all “intermediary bodies” accusing them of “collaboration” or “treason”. Civil society associations have also been subjected to prosecution, arbitrary arrests and deprivation from representation, in a context of of increasing violence in society due to the authorities’ adoption of racist and discriminatory speeches and rhetoric inciting infighting and violating human dignity.

In light of the above, we, the undersigned, demand the following:

Call for the immediate release of all political detainees, immediately and unconditionally. We also urge the Tunisian authorities to recognize the national and the international human rights treaties they have ratified.
Call on the Tunisian authorities to stop dismantling the nascent democracy and put an end to unfair trials and prosecutions against political opponents of the regime and anyone who criticises it.
Call on all activists and observers to join the national movement for restoring democracy and ending authoritarian rule that has taken Tunisia back to despotism, injustice, and violations of rights and freedoms.