The Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) is no longer the central institution of Tunisia's legislative power. This is the unambiguous conclusion of the report "A year of legislative work 2024-2025: a legislative function in decline", published in October 2025 by the Tunisian Association for the Defense of Individual Liberties (ADLI https://adlitn.org/une-annee-de-travail-legislatif-13-mars-2023-13-mars-2024-une-fonction-legislative-a-minima/ ). The document, rich in data and analysis, draws up a worrying assessment of the state of the legislative process under the 2022 Constitution. It should be remembered that this institution emerged from an election marked by historically low turnout in 2024 - barely 11% of registered voters, one of the lowest rates in Tunisian history - and that, under the Constitution drafted by Kaïs Saïed, it is no longer a genuine legislative power, but a mere legislative function.
Legislative production dominated by the executive branch
According to the report, 40 laws were passed between March 2024 and July 2025, a misleading figure that masks a simple reality: Parliament hardly legislates anymore.
Almost half of these texts - precisely 22 - are limited to the approval of loan agreements negotiated by the Presidency of the Republic with international financial institutions. The ATL points out that ten bills come directly from Carthage.
Despite the existence of a bicameral Parliament, the President continues to adopt decree-laws, including in areas which, in principle, fall within the exclusive competence of the ARP. The report refers to a "manifest pre-eminence of the executive", which marginalizes the parliamentary institution.
Civil and political rights: largely absent from the legislative debate
The report is particularly alarmist about the almost total absence of legislation on civil and political rights.
In a context marked by arbitrary arrests, erosion of the right to a fair trial, and repression of the press, no legislative initiative has been launched to re-establish the guarantees of the rule of law.
ADLI speaks of a "remarkable decline" in civil liberties in legislative production - a striking contrast with the violations documented by national and international organizations.
Social rights: an instrumentalized social policy
While a few laws concern social rights - support for victims of terrorism, aid for low-income people, programs for the disabled - the report notes that they are essentially initiated by the President and often backed by external loans.
For ADLI, these measures are part of a political logic aimed at reinforcing the presidential narrative of a "renewed social state", without actually constituting a coherent public policy.
Dependence on foreign debt
One of the key findings of the report is Tunisia's growing dependence on international financing. The loans approved cover a wide range of sectors: energy, transport, mountain agriculture, climate projects and the environment.
This massive recourse to debt is in flagrant contradiction with the official rhetoric of the regime, which regularly denounces foreign interference and claims to have "restored" economic sovereignty.
Bicameralism without checks and balances
The 2022 Constitution established a second chamber: the National Council of Regions and Districts (CNRD).
But according to ADLI, this structure "has no effective power" and is unable to exercise the prerogatives provided for by the Constitution, notably in the absence of a Constitutional Court.
In the report's view, the CNRD seems to have been designed more as an instrument to neutralize the role of the ARP than to improve democratic governance.
An alarming conclusion
"The ARP no longer plays its constitutional role", writes ADLI in conclusion. The institution, theoretically the repository of legislative power, now appears weakened, subordinate and devoid of initiative. Its activity is no more than a "procedural validation" of texts coming from the top of the State.
Against a backdrop of deep political crisis, the ADLI report highlights a major risk: the normalization of a permanent state of exception, where Parliament ceases to be a counterweight and becomes a mere recording chamber at the service of the executive.
