"Chahed" Observatory to monitor electoral process created

An observatory to monitor the electoral process was launched by the Tunisian Association of Junior Lawyers, in association with national professional organisations and civil society associations. This new structure, called "Chahed" (witness in Arabic), plans to train nearly 4,000 observers to be assigned in different polling stations to ensure the good running of the elections of the Constituent Assembly scheduled for October 23, 2011. It seeks to monitor all the stages of the electoral process, particularly by providing legal assistance to both voters and candidates to guarantee their rights. A legal assistance unit will be created to this effect and will be made available to voters and candidates in each region, along with the creation of a hotline to answer all their questions on the electoral process. Regarding the funding of this structure, President of the Bar and Chairman of the Observatory Abderrazak Kilani said at a news briefing held on Friday that such organisations as the United Nations and the European Union have expressed their willingness to support the observatory and this in addition to its own resources. The president of the Bar said the observatory plans to hold soon a meeting with the Higher Independent Authority of Elections to work in close collaboration with this structure.