Politics of Tunisia
Member State of the African Union The politics of Tunisia takes place within the framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic,[1] with a president serving as head of state, prime minister as head of government, a unicameral legislature and a court system influenced by French civil law.
Between 1956 and 2011, Tunisia operated as a de facto one-party state, with politics dominated by the secular Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) under former presidents Habib Bourguiba and then Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
However, in 2011 a national uprising led to the ousting of Ben Ali and the dismantling of the RCD, paving the way for a multi-party democracy.
October 2014 saw the first democratic parliamentary elections since the 2011 revolution, resulting in a win by the secularist Nidaa Tounes party with 85 seats in the 217-member assembly.
It maintains close relations with the United States, France and the European Union, with which it entered an Association Agreement in 1995.
[3] Tunisia's favorable relations with the United States and the European Union were earned following years of successful economic cooperation in the private sector and infrastructure modernization.
[6] However, on 25 July 2021 he suspended Parliament, fired the prime minister and consolidated power in what opponents called a "coup.
The president nominates the candidate of the party that gained the most votes in legislative elections to form a government within a month.
The nominee must submit his program to the Assembly of the Representatives of the People and get the trust of the majority of its members before being appointed prime minister.
The lower house played a growing role as an arena for debate on national policy, especially as it hosted representatives from six opposition parties.
[9] The upper house was the Chamber of Advisors, which had 112 members, including representatives of governorates (provinces), professional organizations and national figures.
[11] Since 1987 Tunisia has reformed its political system several times, abolishing life-term presidencies and opening up the parliament to opposition parties.
President Ben Ali's party, known as the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), commanded majorities in local, regional, and national elections.
In one instance, the Ettajdid party's weekly publication, Ettarik al-Jadid, was seized by authorities for violating campaign communications laws.
More than one-fifth of the seats in both chambers of parliament were held by women, an exceptionally high level in the Arab world.
[23][24] President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was criticized for the low levels of democracy and freedom of expression in the country by Amnesty International and various other organizations.
On 14 January 2011, president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali officially resigned after fleeing to Saudi Arabia, ending 23 years in power,[29][30] following the most dramatic wave of social and political unrest in Tunisia in three decades.
[43] Despite this, Tunisia hosted the second half of the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society in 2005,[44] which endorsed the freedom of the internet as a platform for political participation and human rights protection.
