Tunis 21 September 2004-- Members of the national observatory for presidential and legislative elections, led by the president of the observatory Mr Abdelwahab El Behi, visited the headquarters of two political parties in preparation for next presidential and legislative elections which will be held in Tunisia on October 24th.

The parties visited by the observatory are the Popular Unity Party (PUP) and the Social Democratic Movement (MDS), two of Tunisia 's seven opposition parties.

During the meeting, members of the observatory outlined again the objectives of their institution.

Both the PUP and the MDS parties are participating in the legislative elections scheduled for October 24th. The head of the PUP party, Mr Mohamed Bouchiha, is also running for President, while the MDS party has chosen to endorse the candidacy of President Ben Ali for presidential elections.