TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisian presidential elections will take place as scheduled in September and October, the head of the country's elections authority has said. 

Speaking at a news conference late Tuesday, Farouk Bouasker, the head of the Tunisian Independent High Electoral Commission, said that after finalizing the issues of setting the local councils by April, the commission will announce the schedule and arrangements related to the elections.

He added that the commission will issue all arrangements, including the requirements for candidacy, in accordance with the country's constitution of 2022.

On the local councils, Bouasker said 279 local councils will be inaugurated on March 1, and by the start of April, all local councils will be installed to have their works started.

Tunisian President Kais Saied was elected on Oct. 13, 2019 for a five-year period, and is expected to self-nominate for the upcoming elections in September-October.

On July 25, 2022, Saied organized a referendum for the adoption of a new constitution, abolishing the country's 2014 constitution.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that has aggravated the country's economic conditions since 2021 when President Kais Saied ousted the government and dissolved parliament.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara