Circular to Banks and the National Office of Posts No. 2024-10 dated September 6, 2024

Tunis, September 6, 2024

Circular to Banks and the National Office of Posts No. 10 for 2024

Subject: Special Campaign Accounts for Candidates in the Presidential Elections.

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Having examined Law No. 23 of 2012 dated December 20, 2012, concerning the Independent High Authority for Elections and all subsequent amending and supplementary texts;

and Law No. 16 of 2014 dated May 26, 2014, concerning elections and referendums and all subsequent amending and supplementary texts, particularly Decree No. 8 of 2023 dated March 8, 2023;

and Law No. 35 of 2016 dated April 25, 2016, concerning the basic system of the Central Bank of Tunisia;

and Law No. 48 of 2016 dated July 11, 2016, concerning banks and financial institutions;

and Decision No. 20 of 2014 dated August 8, 2014, concerning the regulation of campaign financing rules, procedures, and methods as amended by Decision No. 546 of 2024 dated August 21, 2024;

and Decision No. 543 of 2024 dated July 4, 2024, concerning the schedule for the 2024 presidential elections;

and Opinion No. 10 of 2024 dated September 6, 2024, provided for in Article 42 of Law No. 35 of 2016, particularly paragraph 2 concerning circulars with a binding nature;

The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia has decided as follows:

Article 1: Banks and the National Office of Posts must open a single special campaign account for each presidential candidate, assigned a unique code distinguishing it from other accounts opened in bank or post office ledgers. The account is opened by the candidate or any other person via a specific power of attorney, authenticated by signature, at the bank branch or post office chosen by the candidate or their agent. The candidate’s financial agent is responsible for managing, operating, and closing this single special campaign account in accordance with prevailing regulations.

Banks and the National Office of Posts are prohibited from opening more than one special campaign account for the same candidate.

Article 2: Before opening a special campaign account, banks and the National Office of Posts must verify via the Central Bank’s data exchange system that no existing special campaign account exists under the candidate’s name.

Article 3: The special campaign account is opened in accordance with prevailing regulations and based on the following documents:

• Original or a certified copy of the Independent High Authority for Elections’ decision accepting the candidate’s final nomination.
• A copy of the official document proving the candidate’s identity.
• Original or a certified copy of the candidate’s decision appointing the financial agent.
• A copy of the official document proving the financial agent’s identity.
• Original or a certified copy of the authorization letter for opening the special campaign account on behalf of the candidate (if opened via an agent).
• A copy of the official document proving the identity of the agent responsible for opening the special campaign account on behalf of the candidate (if opened via an agent).

Article 4: The funding for the special campaign account is provided exclusively through the following sources:

1. Dinar transfers originating from:
   • The candidate’s internal accounts, under self-funding.
   • The internal accounts of Tunisian natural persons residing in Tunisia, as defined by tax legislation, under private funding for the candidate’s campaign.
2. Dinar deposits originating from financial amounts deposited by the candidate’s financial agent in presidential elections, either in cash or via checks, under self-funding or private funding.

In this case, the deposit slip must clearly state on its reverse side the full identity of the financial agent (first name, last name, national ID number, and date of issue), along with the agent’s signature.

Banks and the National Office of Posts are prohibited from accepting funding from Tunisians residing abroad for candidates, whether self-funding or private funding.

They are also prohibited from accepting transfers to special campaign accounts issued by legal entities of all kinds, including political parties, associations, and natural persons, even if they reside in Tunisia or derive their income from Tunisia under tax legislation.

In application of Decision No. 20 of 2014 as amended by Decision No. 546 of 2024 dated August 21, 2024, banks and the National Office of Posts must take necessary measures to prevent accepting foreign or anonymous funding for the candidate’s special campaign account.

Article 5: No overdraft, advance, or facility of any kind may be granted to the candidate holding the special campaign account.

The bank branch or post office where the special campaign account is opened must provide the candidate’s financial agent with a sufficient number of checkbooks within a maximum period of three working days from the date of submitting a written request, and a single debit/withdrawal card within the available account balance.

Article 6: Banks and the National Office of Posts must declare to the Central Bank of Tunisia without delay all openings of special campaign accounts as stipulated in Article 1, via the Central Bank’s data exchange system.

Article 7: Banks and the National Office of Posts must initially submit interim statements for special campaign accounts for presidential elections from their opening until the end of the campaign, within a maximum period of 15 days after the campaign ends. In a second phase, they must submit final statements for those accounts from opening until closure, within a maximum period of 15 days after closure.

The statements must be submitted to the Central Bank of Tunisia on paper, signed and stamped by an authorized representative of the bank or National Office of Posts, and via the Central Bank’s data exchange system in Excel format.

Upon closing the account, banks and the National Office of Posts must recover unused checkbooks and cards from the candidate’s financial agent, taking necessary measures to complete pending transactions in that account.

Article 8: Banks and the National Office of Posts must designate a liaison officer for the Central Bank of Tunisia from among their management staff, holding at least the rank of manager. This officer is responsible for overseeing the implementation of this circular, particularly resolving any difficulties arising during the opening and management of special campaign accounts for presidential elections, collecting required data from bank branches and post offices, and submitting it to the Central Bank of Tunisia within specified deadlines.

A deputy must be appointed meeting the same conditions.

Banks and the National Office of Posts must declare without delay the full identity, phone number, and email address of the liaison officer and their deputy by any means leaving a written record.

Article 9: Banks and the National Office of Posts must retain files for special campaign accounts for presidential candidates, along with all documents related to their opening, management, and closure, as well as supporting documents for operations and transactions conducted through them, for a period of not less than ten years from the date of closure.

Article 10: Banks and the National Office of Posts must comply with the provisions of this circular and give due attention to its proper implementation.

Article 11: The provisions of this circular enter into force upon its publication.

Governor, Fethi Zouhair Nouri