TUNIS, Tunisia — Noureddine Taboubi, secretary-general of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) — Tunisia’s largest trade union organization to defend workers, with about 700,000 employees — met May 9 with the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), Nabil Bafoun, and agreed to set up a joint media plan to move forward with the registration process for the upcoming legislative and presidential elections scheduled for October and November.

The same day, the UGTT issued a statement on its Facebook page noting that its central, regional and local headquarters will be placed at the IHEC’s service. According to the statement, Taboubi stressed the UGTT’s keenness to ensure successful democratic and transparent elections, with a great voter turnout.

Addressing a May 1 Labor Day gathering at Mohamed Ali el-Hammi Square in Tunis, Taboubi made the official announcement that the UGTT will participate in the upcoming legislative and presidential elections. He added that the UGTT has started preparing a socio-economic program with its own vision for the future of Tunisia, which voters can use as a reference to choose the candidate to represent them.

Meanwhile, UGTT official spokesman Sami al-Tahiri told Tunis Afrique Presse May 4 that the union decided to nominate members to head the polling stations and appoint about 2,000 observers, in preparation for the upcoming elections.