After the IPU Secretary General's visit to Tunisia for talks with the senior authorities there (see article) and in a bid to lend support to the process of electoral reform in Tunisia as preparations get under way for the election of a Constituent Assembly on 24 July 2011, the IPU dispatched an expert mission to the country from 22 to 24 March 2011.

Following consultations with Tunisian women politicians, members of civil society organizations and representatives of local and international youth movements, the mission met with the subcommittee tasked with writing the draft electoral law. The discussions centred on identifying which election systems are the most conducive to a balanced representation of women and men in the future Assembly.

The mission made the following recommendations:

1. Clearly and strongly reaffirm the principle of gender equality in the draft election law;
2. Adopt an election system based on proportional representation, which is the most conducive to a balanced representation of men and women, especially if coupled with large constituencies. This system has to provide for the following:
   
   • Gender parity of candidates on party lists;
   • Strict adherence to the rule that every other candidate on the list must be a woman;
   • Rejection by the independent election commission of lists that do not respect the principles of parity and of alternating women and men candidates, with a reasonable deadline to allow the non-compliant party to correct its list; and
   • A common ceiling on contributions and campaign expenses.
3. Facilitate the political participation of women in the electoral process, notably through:
   
   • Awareness campaigns on the importance of having women in politics;
   • Encouraging women to take part in elections both as candidates and voters;
   • Equal access for men and women candidates to public media; and
   • A balanced representation of men and women in the future independent election commission, with consideration given to the equal participation of men and women in the election process in the work of the former.
4. In view of future phases, incorporate or maintain the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination against women in the future constitution of Tunisia and ensure that gender issues remain a priority of the future Constituent Assembly.

The mission team was composed of Professor Drude Dahlerup from the University of Stockholm, an expert in election systems and quotas (Sweden), Ms. Françoise Gaspard, former MP and expert on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (France), Ms. Syada Greiss, former MP and former President of the IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians (Egypt), and Ms. Zeina Hilal, Programme Officer, IPU Gender Partnership Programme.

Support to Tunisian women should be continued, notably through helping them take up the challenges inherent to the election campaign and strengthen their relations with the media and their constituents.