Tunis- 31 August 2004 -- President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali received today Mr Abdelwahab Behi, president of the Tunisian International Arbitration Center.

Mr Behi made the following statement after the meeting:

"I had the honor of meeting with the President of the Republic who conferred to me the responsibility of presiding over the national observatory for presidential and legislative elections, of forming this observatory for the purpose of monitoring all conditions pertaining to the various stages of elections and of reporting on this to the President of the Republic."

"The Head of State has instructed all concerned services to facilitate the work of the observatory so that it be able to accomplish its task in the best of conditions and in all independence and transparency."

"On this occasion, I noted the firm commitment of the Head of State to ensuring the necessary conditions for the presidential and legislative elections to take place in a climate of transparency and rule of law."