Tunisians Elect First Female Mayor

Souad Abderrahim, a leading figure in Ennahda since 2011, ran as an independent on the party's ticket

Souad Abderrahim was officially elected mayor of Tunis on Tuesday, making her the first woman to take the office in the Tunisian capital.

While Abderrahim won 33.8 percent of votes during municipal elections in early May, she still needed to secure the support of municipal councillors in order to take office.
Souad Abderrahim, the candidate of Tunisia’s conservative Islamist Ennahda (Rebirth) party, was elected by members of Tunis’ 60-strong municipal council with 26 votes.
Her nearest rival, Kamal Edir, the candidate of the Nidaa Tounes party of President Beji Caid Essebsi, got 22 votes.

“I dedicate this win to all Tunisians and all women who have struggled to be in such senior positions,’’ Abderrahim said following the vote.
Abderrahim, a 53-year-old pharmacist, was an elected member of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014.
She now serves as a member of Ennahda’s policy-making committee.
The Ennahda party was the biggest winner in Tunisia’s May 6 municipal elections, the first since the 2011 uprising.

The polls were seen as an important step in Tunisia’s democratic transition.
The constitution, approved in 2014, gives municipal councils vast powers, with the aim of boosting decentralisation.
However, turnout was extremely sluggish, with just 33.7 per cent of the country’s 5.3 million eligible voters casting their ballots.

July 03, 2018