The parliamentary groups have chosen their representatives for the parliament's bureau, with the exception of unaffiliated MPs, Speaker of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) Brahim Bouderbala said at a plenary session Wednesday. Unaffiliated MPs voiced discontent at the decision to reduce the number of their representatives in the structures of the parliament. They had walked out of Tuesday's session in protest against the "violation of the rules of procedure by approving a proposal that reduces their quota in the ARP bureau and in the committees." MPs, on Tuesday evening, voted with an absolute majority on a proposal to set the modalities for counting the respective quotas for each parliamentary bloc and for MPs who do not belong to blocs within the parliamentary structures. The proposal was approved with 100 favourable votes, against one objection and no abstentions. The proposal, submitted by MP Dhafer Sghiri, stipulates that a group of no fewer than 17 MPs, whether in bloc or not, shall obtain a seat in the ARP bureau. This is a literal application of the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 32 of the Rules of Procedure, which takes into account this condition in the allocation of parliamentary quotas. Unaffiliated MP Hichem Hosni accused the ARP Speaker, along with political parties and parliamentary groups, of wanting to undermine independent MPs and meet behind closed doors, in their absence. The parliament speaker did not officially announce, until Wednesday's session, the number of unaffiliated MPs and their names "to buy time and decide how to represent them in the ARP bureau and in the committees." At the close of Wednesday's morning session, Bouderbala announced the quota of parliamentary groups in the ARP bureau, adding that the deadline to file for membership for unaffiliated MPs will be May 19.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse