The Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) and the National Council of Regions and Districts (CNRD) began a joint plenary to finalize the 2026 finance bill, the same day as the constitutional deadline closed. Several key articles remain unresolved after the joint committee’s failure to find a compromise.
A joint session under constitutional pressure
At the Bardo Palace, the two chambers opened their closing plenary on Wednesday devoted to the 2026 finance bill. This session comes at the final constitutional deadline to transmit the final text to President Kaïs Saïed for adoption and publication.
The debates promise to be decisive after weeks of persistent differences between the two bodies.
The joint committee, made up of five members from each chamber, finished its work Tuesday evening without reaching an agreement on several sensitive articles.
After hearing the Minister of Finance and the Secretary of State responsible for the Energy Transition, disagreements remained firm, particularly on the provisions introduced by the ARP.
Items that continue to block
Among the points of contention are article 82 relating to vehicles stored in municipal depots, articles 102 and 103 concerning the calculation of the pension plan of deputies, as well as article 110 setting the date of entry into force of the law.
Other articles relating to the reduction of customs duties on the import of solar panels and a bonus for people suffering from muscular dystrophy failed to reach common ground.
Faced with the lack of agreement, the president of the joint committee, Dhafer Sghiri, indicated that the version adopted by the ARP on December 4, now comprising 110 articles, will be transmitted as is to the President of the Republic.
He assured that the representatives of the two chambers had tried to converge, but that “the members of the CNRD were not in this disposition”.
Two legislative readings
The ARP adopted the project on December 4 with 89 votes for, 23 against and 12 abstentions, after the addition of 49 articles. The CNRD approved it two days later, but after having rejected or amended several articles validated by the deputies.
The joint plenary this Wednesday should mark the last step before the official transmission of the text to Carthage.
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