Fourty billion dinars earmarked for smooth running of legislative and local elections in 2017

The Government has allocated under the 2017 finance law a package worth 40 billion dinars for the organization of the upcoming legislative elections to be held next April, in addition to the local elections to be held next October 2017.

This financial package, estimated at four thousand billion centimes in Dinars will cover all expenses linked to the logistical operations of the upcoming electoral contests notably the printing of ballot papers and the fitting of the various election processing centers, as well as the charge office expenses and process control, and all other regulatory issues needed to abide by this election deadline.

In this respect, the finance minister Mr Haji Baba Ammi, said during his presentation of the Finance bill of 2017, as confirmed by members from within the Finance and budget Committee of the National People’s Assembly to “Echorouk” that besides the usual state social expenditures contained in the 2017 state budget, a financial package estimated at 40 billion dinars has been earmarked by the Government for the expenses to be incurred by the parliamentary and local polls to be held in the course of the year 2017.

In line with the provisions of the electoral law recently endorsed by the two houses of Parliament, it is prohibited for all candidates vying for any national or local elections to receive directly or indirectly donations in cash or in kind or any other contribution under all its forms from  any foreign state or from any natural or legal person of foreign nationality.

Furthermore, there can be no election campaign expenses of each list of candidates in the legislative elections exceeding a maximum of 1 million and 500 thousand dinars for each candidate.