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Carter Center in Tunisia comes under fire

The Carter Center in Tunisia has been accused of meddling in the country’s internal affairs after it issued a controversial statement calling for amendments to the Tunisian electoral law allowing members of the army and security forces the right to vote.
A Tunisian soldier holds his position during an exercise along the frontier with Libya in Sabkeht Alyun, Tunisia February 6, 2016. Tunisia has completed a 200-km (125 mile) barrier along its frontier with Libya to try to keep out Islamist militants, and will soon install electronic monitoring systems, Defence Minister Farhat Hachani said on Saturday. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi      TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY      - RTX25SC1
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The statement published by the Carter Center’s Tunis office calling for “improvements in electoral legislation” has triggered controversy and condemnation from local civic organizations in Tunisia. The center issued a statement Sept. 28 urging the Tunisian parliament to “make improvements to the electoral law giving the right to vote to the army and security forces.” Local organizations considered this call interference in Tunisian affairs.

The Carter Center opened its office in Tunis in June 2011 with the aim of monitoring the elections, the constitutional drafting process and the establishment of institutional and legal frameworks for elections. In 2014, the center was in charge of election observation of the presidential and legislative elections, and issued a report on them.

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