A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Monday, September 8, 2014

Unnoticed in the Chaos, Tunisia Opens Candidate Registration for Presidential Elections

The place where "Arab Spring" began is about the only place where the flowers are still blooming. Almost ignored among the disasters in Libya, Syria, and Iraq and the new authoritarianism in Egypt, Tunisia today opened registration for candidates in the Presidential elections scheduled of November 23. Registration remains open until September 22. Oh, and:
The electoral law approved on May 1, 2014 states the eligibility requirements of candidates as follows:
To be registered as voter in voter lists
To be a holder of Tunisian citizenship since birth
To be a Muslim
To be at least 35 years of age when filing for candidacy
To have the support of ten members of the National Constituent Assembly or ten thousand voters.
That sounds like, well, like democracy. (You have to be Tunisian by birth and 35, but the same is true in the US. Nothing here about having to be male, just Muslim.)

Why isn't this on the evening news?

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