Tunisian general election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The next Tunisian general election was originally scheduled to be held in 2014, but it was brought forward by the Tunisian Revolution
Tunisian revolution
The Tunisian Revolution is an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations taking place in Tunisia. The events began in December 2010 and led to the ousting of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011...

 which caused the ousting of President Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was...

 on 14 January 2011. It was later postponed indefinitely after it was decided to first hold a Constituent Assembly election on 23 October.

Background

Protests in Tunisia began in December 2010 with riots in Sidi Bouzid after Mohamed Bouazizi
Mohamed Bouazizi
Mohamed Bouazizi was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him by a municipal official and her aides...

 set himself alight
Self-immolation
Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest...

 in protest against the confiscation of his fruit and vegetable cart. The riots then spread across the country and continued into 2011. Days after a curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...

 was imposed in the capital Tunis amid continuing conflagarations, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was...

 left the country. Ben Ali's Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi
Mohamed Ghannouchi
Mohamed Ghannouchi was the Prime Minister of Tunisia and was self-proclaimed acting President of the country for a few hours starting 14 January 2011, under Article 56 of the Constitution of Tunisia...

 briefly took over as acting president before he handed power over to parliamentary speaker Fouad Mebazaa
Fouad Mebazaa
Fouad Mebazaa is a Tunisian politician who has been President of Tunisia since 15 January 2011. He was active in Neo Destour prior to Tunisian independence, served as Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Public Health, and Minister of Culture and Information, and has been President of the...

 after the head of Tunisia's Constitutional Court, Fethi Abdennadher, declared that Ghannouchi did not have right to take power and Mebazaa would have 60 days to organise a new general election. For his part, Mebazaa said it was in the country's best interest to form a National Unity government
National unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.- Canada :During World War I the Conservative government of Sir...

.

Days before leaving office, Ben Ali said he would not seek to change the constitution
Constitution of Tunisia
The Constitution of Tunisia is the supreme law of the Tunisian Republic. The Constitution is the framework for the organization of the Tunisian government and for the relationship of the federal government with the governates, citizens, and all people within Tunisia...

 and run for a sixth term in office.

Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally
Constitutional Democratic Rally
The Constitutional Democratic Rally , also referred to by its French acronym RCD, formerly called Neo Destour then Socialist Destourian Party, was the governing party in Tunisia. The party was suspended by the minister of interior on February 6th awaiting a decision on its dissolution by judicial...

 considered to change its name (retaining the "Constitution" part in some form) and run in the general election on an anti-Islamist platform. However, the party was banned on 6 February 2011 and dissolved on 9 March 2011.

The head of the Higher Political Reform Commission
Higher Political Reform Commission
The Higher Political Reform Commission of Tunisia was formed on January 17, 2011 by Mohamed Ghannouchi, the Prime Minister of Tunisia. Its president is Yadh Ben Achour, legal expert and son of the late Grand Mufti of Tunisia Mohamed Fadhel Ben Achour...

, prominent lawyer Yadh Ben Achour
Yadh Ben Achour
Yadh Ben Achour is a Tunisian lawyer and an expert on public law and Islamic political theory. He is the son of the late Mohamed Fadhel Ben Achour, a prominent Tunisian theologian and union activist...

, warned that Tunisia risked anarchy if the transitional period is not handled with care, as institutions and mechanisms of the state are either in disarray or still tainted by links to Ben Ali's regime. Ben Achour also stated that the commission was unsure whether it would be better to reform the constitution or elect a constitutional assembly to write a completely new one, but that it had to be decided soon, as the public was growing tired of waiting. He also confirmed elections would not be held by 15 March 2011 as theoretically stipulated by the constitution, pointing to force majeure
Force majeure
Force majeure or vis major "superior force", also known as cas fortuit or casus fortuitus "chance occurrence, unavoidable accident", is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of...

 as legitimate grounds for taking longer until the election.

The interim government announced on 25 February 2011, that elections would be held by mid-July "at the latest". The constitution of Tunisia
Constitution of Tunisia
The Constitution of Tunisia is the supreme law of the Tunisian Republic. The Constitution is the framework for the organization of the Tunisian government and for the relationship of the federal government with the governates, citizens, and all people within Tunisia...

 mandates an election to occur within 45 to 60 days of the Constitutional Council's declaration of the presidency being vacant, but there were calls by the opposition to delay the elections and hold them only within six or seven months, with international supervision.

After the formation of an interim government, over 70 political parties were formed in order to run for the elections.

Dates

The general election has been postponed indefinitely as the president announced on 3 March that an election to a Constituent Assembly would be held on 24 July. This election was itself postponed and finally took place on 23 October.

Presidential election

Under Article 57 of the Constitution
Constitution of Tunisia
The Constitution of Tunisia is the supreme law of the Tunisian Republic. The Constitution is the framework for the organization of the Tunisian government and for the relationship of the federal government with the governates, citizens, and all people within Tunisia...

, acting President Mebazaa cannot be a candidate in the presidential election, even if he resigns. He is also above the age limit of 75 for presidential candidates.

Declared candidates

The first opposition politician to declare his candidacy on 17 January was Moncef Marzouki
Moncef Marzouki
Moncef Marzouki is a Tunisian human rights activist, politician and physician.-Education and early human rights activities:Born in Grombalia , Marzouki studied medicine at the University of Strasbourg...

, a secular human rights activist from the political left and founder of the Congress for the Republic
Congress for the Republic
The Congress for the Republic , also referred to as Al Mottamar or by its French acronym CPR, is a centre-left secular political party in Tunisia. It was created in 2001, but legalised only after the 2011 Tunisian revolution...

, which had been banned under Ben Ali.

Tunisian journalist and government critic Taoufik Ben Brik
Taoufik Ben Brik
Taoufik Ben Brik is a Tunisian journalist born in 1960 in Jerissa.-Career:Brik is a prominent critic of the former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and an outspoken critic of censorship in the Middle East...

 announced his candidacy on 20 January.

Declined candidates

Rachid Ghannouchi returned to Tunisia from exile on 30 January, but stated that he would not run in the presidential election.

Potential candidates

On 15 January 2011, Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...

speculated that the top contenders for the presidency were the following:
  • Prime Minister
    Prime Minister of Tunisia
    The Prime Minister of the Tunisian Republic is the head of government of Tunisia. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Tunisia...

     Mohammed Ghannouchi. However, in a TV interview on 21 January, he vowed to quit politics after elections.
  • Former Foreign Minister
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Tunisia)
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia is a cabinet-level governmental agency in Tunisia in charge of conducting and designing the foreign policy of the country.-Organization and structure:...

     Kamel Morjane
    Kamel Morjane
    Kamel Morjane, also spelled Kemal Mourjan, is a Tunisian politician and diplomat who served as Tunisia's Minister of Defense from 2005 to 2010 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2011.-Life and political career:...

  • Regional Development Minister and opposition party (PDP
    Progressive Democratic Party (Tunisia)
    The Progressive Democratic Party , also referred to by its acronym PDP, is a secular liberal political party in Tunisia. It was founded under the name of Progressive Socialist Rally in 1983, gained legal recognition in 1988 and was renamed Progressive Democratic Party in 2001. Under the rule of Ben...

    ) leader Ahmed Najib Chebbi
    Ahmed Najib Chebbi
    Ahmed Najib Chebbi or simply Najib Chebbi is a Tunisian attorney and politician.Chebbi is a prominent figure of the Tunisian opposition movement; in 1983, he founded the Democratic Progressive Party, which gained legal recognition in 1988. He is currently the leader of the Democratic Progressive...

  • Former Tourism and Commerce Minister Mohamed Jegham
    Mohamed Jegham
    Mohamed Jegham , born August 8, 1943 in Hammam Sousse, is a Tunisian politician and businessman.- Youth :Mohamed Jegham's father died when he was two and mother died when he was an adult....

     :fr:Mohamed Jegham http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mohamed-Jegham-Pr%C3%A9sident-2011/192958474050898?v=photos#!/pages/Mohamed-Jegham-Pr%C3%A9sident-2011/192958474050898?sk=wall founder with Ahmed Friaa
    Ahmed Friaa
    Ahmed Friaa was the Minister of the Interior of Tunisia for two weeks in January 2011, during the peak of Tunisian revolution.-Biography:...

     of new Al Watan Party
    Homeland Party (Tunisia)
    The Homeland Party or Al-Watan Party is a centrist party in Tunisia, that was announced on 19 February and officially licensed on 9 March 2011....

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mohamed-Jegham-Pr%C3%A9sident-2011/192958474050898?v=photos#!/alwatan.tn
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