Tunisia moves to bans foreign party funding

Tunisia's main reform committee on Wednesday banned foreign funding of political parties but Islamist reservations over the move fueled growing fears over the post-revolution era. The decision was seen as a key step toward October elections -- the first since the January collapse of Tunisia's dictatorship -- and comes against a backdrop of rising violence many fear could roll back the revolution's gains. The bill's 30 articles strictly prohibit "any foreign funding, direct or indirect" of political parties and any non-state subsidies. The document mustered the votes of 82 out of 88 members in the authority charged with political reforms and will be submitted to the transitional government formed in the aftermath of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali's removal from power, which is widely expected to approve it. It was adopted in the absence of the country's main Islamist movement Ennahda, which has withdrawn from the body. "After being postponed twice and after failed attempts to bring Ennahda back into the high authority, this bill was overwhelmingly adopted," the body's chairman, Yadh Ben Achour, told AFP. "But my relief will only be complete when those who have suspended their participation rejoin us," he said, adding that talks to bring Ennahda back into the reform body were planned. Ennahda, which was long banned and only became legal after Ben Ali's departure, is suspected of receiving funds from Gulf countries and was keen to avoid new curbs on party funding, observers say. A senior Ennahda official denied his party ever opposed the new law on party funding and said it had boycotted the reform commission because it was run "undemocratically". "We are not against the bill on political parties but we are against the way the high authority is being managed. This is what prodded us to suspend our participation," Samir Dilou told AFP. Ben Achour "is biased and his commission has no legitimacy because its members are not elected," the Islamist leader said. The law on political party funding was seen as a key step ahead of October 23 elections for a constituent assembly that would pave the way for fresh parliamentary and presidential polls. The Progressive Democratic Party, which opinion polls rank second behind Ennahda as the country's most popular, approved the new bill. The two parties had initially objected to some provisions of the new political party law which they saw as threatening their dominance and undermining their chances in the upcoming polls. The bill sets a 30,000-euro cap ($42,000) on private donations and compels parties to appoint accountants selected from a government-approved list. Political parties are also banned from distributing monetary or in-kind benefits to voters, a clause which observers say could handicap Ennahda, which has built much of its popularity around intensive charity work. A wave of protests by young Tunisians demanding more freedom and jobs led to the shock January ouster of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled the country for more than two decades with an iron fist. The revolt tipped the first domino of the Arab spring that is still raging across the region but demonstrations have continued in Tunisia, where many have complained over the pace and depth of reform. A series of incidents -- demonstrations against the government and attacks against police stations -- left one dead and several wounded over the weekend. Many Tunisians fear Ben Ali cronies or other groups are trying to derail the democratic process and Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi on Monday urged all parties to commit to the October polls.