Tunisia to overhaul military service law with higher pay and training
Defence Minister Khaled Sehili says a new draft law to replace the 2004 national service law is complete and aims to make the service more attractive and flexible.
Defence Minister Khaled Sehili announced on Thursday, 12 November 2026, that the government has finished drafting a new law to replace Law No. 1 of 2004 on national service in Tunisia. He presented the main lines of the draft during a joint session of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People and the National Council of Regions and Districts, which was devoted to the defence ministry's 2027 budget.
The draft promises a higher monthly allowance for young conscripts, though Sehili did not say by how much. It would also widen vocational training open to conscripts, so they can gain skills that count in the job market, and create more routes into public sector jobs, with the details still to be set out. The text would diversify the ways of fulfilling national duty and digitise and simplify procedures. Sehili urged students to regularise their status with the national service and contact the competent services.
The new text must still pass the required institutional process before it can be adopted and take effect.
Why it mattersConscripts would receive a higher monthly allowance and access to vocational training, and students must regularise their national service status.