The first president of the Tunisian Republic was Habib Bourguiba,[3] who remained in power for 30 years until he was removed through the coup of 7 November 1987,[4] by his prime minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who appointed himself President of the Republic, and in turn remained in power for 23 years, until his fall in the Tunisian revolution on 14 January 2011.

The 2022 Tunisian constitutional referendum transformed Tunisia into a presidential republic, giving the president sweeping powers while largely limiting the role of the parliament.

[11] Since the promulgation of a republican constitution in June 1959, three years after gaining independence from France, Tunisia has had just four directly elected presidents.

Ben Ali ascended as acting president, was elected in his own right in 1989 and served until 2011, when he was forced from office during an uprising against his rule.

For most of its history as an independent state, Tunisia lacked political democracy in the Western sense, and saw widespread violations of human rights.

Given the RCD's near-total domination of Tunisian politics, opposition candidates found it impossible to get their nomination papers signed.

The 2014 Constitution retained the presidency as the key institution, but hedged it about with numerous checks and balances to prevent a repeat of past authoritarian excesses.

Article 74 of the Constitution establishes that the right to presidential candidacy is open to every Tunisian national of at least 35 years of age and of Muslim faith.