However, it is more problematic that Article 10 of the draft law introduces a ban on individuals who hold responsibilities in the central governing bodies of associations, including those governed by Tunisian law, founding or leading political parties. Here again the question arises as to whether fresh restrictions of this kind on freedom of association can be regarded as necessary in a democratic society. In this connection, many people whom the rapporteurs spoke to said that such a separation of associations from political parties was necessary in a young democracy like Tunisia, where the conflation of the two areas had taken on worrying forms in the past. The authorities added that the legislation on associations already included a rule of this kind and that the draft law was therefore intended to harmonise the legislation. In the current circumstances in Tunisia, the Venice Commission accepts these arguments, but it urges the authorities to keep the issue on the agenda and reconsider it in future.