[9] During the Ben Ali rule, Najib Chebbi and the PDP were harassed by the police for years, and verbally attacked by state-run media.

[12] The next day, on 17 January, party leader Najib Chebbi, was named Regional Development Minister in the interim government.

[10] Ahead of the Constituent Assembly election, the PDP evolved into a main exponent of the centre-left secular camp and rival of the Islamist Ennahda Movement.

[4][7] In the run-up to the elections, the Progressive Democrats have received quite an amount of financial support which enabled the party for a lavish campaign.

Critics claim that an important part of the funding came from businesspeople close to the old Ben Ali power elite.