The Tunisian journalists union (SNJT) on Tuesday called a general strike for 17 October over several issues, including demands for freedom of speech. The decision for the journalists to carry out their first ever strike was taken at a meeting held by the SNJT executive board following the breakdown of negotiations with the government on their demands. Differences between the government and the journalists centre on 'arbitrary' appointments in the state media, especially the two state television stations 'Watanya 1', 'Watanya 2' and 'Dar Assabah'.

A group of Tunisian civil society organisations last week warned that the draft law on a new electoral body might put the country's democracy on a dangerous path. 'The government's project is awash with shortcomings and gaps; something which would lead to an election that is neither democratic nor transparent,' Kamel Gharbi, representative of Ofiya coalition, said at the September 19th conference in Tunis. The Ennahda-dominated government in July proposed a set of regulations to establish a new commission to supervise next elections. According to the proposal, members of the Independent High Electoral Commission (ISIE) will be selected by the two-thirds majority of the Constituent Assembly, while its head will be named by the governing troika.

Tunisia’s Prime Minister and Secretary-General of the ruling Islamist al-Nahda party, Hamadi Jebali, was invited to close a two-day event held in Tunis in May to celebrate World Press Freedom Day. In his speech, Jebali remarked upon the importance of a free press for a properly functioning democracy, adding that the present government in Tunisia was 'fully committed to safeguarding a public and independent media'. Despite such words of assurance, the freedom and independence of Tunisian media remain under threat, says this article from