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| Turnout | 89.45% | ||||||||||||||||
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 Member State of the Arab League |
 Africaportal  Politicsportal |
General elections were held in Tunisia on 25 October 2009. [1] Results released on 26 October 2009 indicated a substantial victory for incumbent President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who won the reelection for a fifth five-year term, and the governing Constitutional Democratic Rally. It was the last election contested under the Ben Ali regime, prior to the Tunisian Revolution.
The African Union sent a team of election observers to cover the election. The delegation was led by Benjamin Bounkoulou who described the election as "free and fair". [2] However, a spokesperson from the United States State Department indicated that Tunisia did not allow international monitoring of elections, but the U.S. was still committed to working with the president of Tunisia and its government. [3] There also were reports of mistreatment of an opposition candidate. [4]
The Interior Ministry released the official results for the election on Monday 26 October 2009. [5] Voter turnout was recorded at 89.40% with 4,447,388 of Tunisia's 5.3 million registered voters participating. [6] In the presidential race, incumbent president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali won 89.62% of the vote. [5] His nearest rivals were Mohamed Bouchiha with 5.01% of the vote and Ahmed Inoubli with 3.80%, and Ahmed Brahum with 1.57%. [5]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | Constitutional Democratic Rally | 4,238,711 | 89.62 | |
| Mohamed Bouchiha | Popular Unity Party | 236,955 | 5.01 | |
| Ahmed Inoubli | Unionist Democratic Union | 179,726 | 3.80 | |
| Ahmed Brahim | Ettajdid Movement | 74,257 | 1.57 | |
| Total | 4,729,649 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 4,729,649 | 99.84 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 7,718 | 0.16 | ||
| Total votes | 4,737,367 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 5,296,008 | 89.45 | ||
| Source: POGAR | ||||
In the Chamber of Deputies election, the Democratic Constitutional Rally, which had governed continuously from Tunisia's independence from France in 1956 until the Tunisian Revolution, won 84.59% of the vote and 161 seats. [5] [6] The Movement of Socialist Democrats won 16 seats with 4.63% of the vote, the Popular Unity Party won 12 seats and 3.39% of votes, The Unionist Democratic Union won 9 seats with 2.56%. [6] The remaining 16 seats were divided between the Social Liberal Party, who won eight seats, the Green Party for Progress, who won six and the Movement Ettajdid who won two seats. [6]
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Democratic Constitutional Rally | 3,754,559 | 84.59 | 161 | +9 | |
| Movement of Socialist Democrats | 205,374 | 4.63 | 16 | +2 | |
| Popular Unity Party | 150,639 | 3.39 | 12 | +1 | |
| Unionist Democratic Union | 113,773 | 2.56 | 9 | +2 | |
| Social Liberal Party | 99,468 | 2.24 | 8 | +6 | |
| Green Party for Progress | 74,185 | 1.67 | 6 | New | |
| Ettajdid Movement | 22,206 | 0.50 | 2 | −1 | |
| Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties | 5,329 | 0.12 | 0 | New | |
| Progressive Democratic Party | 1,412 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independent lists | 11,552 | 0.26 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 4,438,497 | 100.00 | 214 | +25 | |
| Valid votes | 4,438,497 | 99.80 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 8,891 | 0.20 | |||
| Total votes | 4,447,388 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 4,974,707 | 89.40 | |||
| Source: POGAR | |||||
The politics of Tunisia takes place within the framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, 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.
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, commonly known as Ben Ali or Ezzine, was a Tunisian politician who served as the second president of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. In that year, during the Tunisian revolution, he was overthrown and fled to Saudi Arabia.
Mohamed Ghannouchi is a Tunisian politician who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from 1999 to 2011. Regarded as a technocrat, Ghannouchi was a long-standing figure in the Tunisian government under President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. He also served as the President of Tunisia from 14 to 15 January 2011, holding the powers and duties of the office nominally for the absent President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had fled the country due to the 2011 revolution. On 15 January 2011 the presidency was declared vacant by the Constitutional Court and Ben Ali's term was officially terminated, leading to Speaker of Parliament Fouad Mebazaa taking office as Acting President. Ghannouchi stayed on as prime minister for six more weeks after Ben Ali's overthrow before himself resigning.
The Democratic Constitutional Rally or Democratic Constitutional Assembly, also referred to by its French initials RCD, a political party in Tunisia. If including its predecessors Neo Destour and the Socialist Destourian Party, it was the ruling party of the country from independence in 1956 until it was overthrown and dissolved in the Tunisian revolution in 2011.
The Movement of Socialist Democrats is a political party in Tunisia.
The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Republic of Tunisia, is the head of state since the creation of the position on 25 July 1957. In this capacity, he exercises executive power with the assistance of a government headed by the prime minister in a presidential system. According to Article 87 of the 2022 Constitution, he is the commander-in-chief of the Tunisian Armed Forces. Under the Constitution, the president is elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of five years, renewable once.
The Chamber of Deputies was the lower chamber of the Parliament of Tunisia, the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Tunisia. It had 214 seats and members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. 20% of the seats are reserved for the opposition. Elections are held in the last 30 days of each five-year term. To be eligible for office, one must be a voter with a Tunisian mother or father and be at least 23 years old the day candidacy is announced. The last election to the Chamber of Deputies was held in October 2009.
The Socialist Destourian Party was the ruling political party of Tunisia from 1964 to 1988. Bahi Ladgham was the first Prime Minister from the party and Hédi Baccouche was the last. It was founded on 22 October 1964 and disbanded on 27 February 1988. Habib Bourgiba was the first president of the Socialist Destourian Party from 1964 to 1987. He was succeeded by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 1988.
In its modern history, Tunisia is a sovereign republic, officially called the Republic of Tunisia. Tunisia has over ten million citizens, almost all of Arab-Berber descent. The Mediterranean Sea is to the north and east, Libya to the southeast, and Algeria to the west. Tunis is the capital and the largest city ; it is located near the ancient site of the city of Carthage.
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General elections were held in Tunisia on 20 March 1994 to elect a President and Chamber of Deputies. In the presidential election, incumbent Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was re-elected unopposed for a second five-year term; he was the only candidate to get endorsements from 30 political figures, as required by the Constitution. In the Chamber election, Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally won 144 seats in an expanded 163-seat Chamber with 97.1 percent of the vote; six other parties received two percent of the vote between them with four winning seats. It was the first time since Tunisia gained independence that the RCD would face any opposition MPs. Voter turnout was 95.47%.
General elections were held in Tunisia on 24 October 1999 to elect a President and Chamber of Deputies. For the first time ever there was more than one candidate in the presidential election; the longstanding requirement for prospective candidates to get at least 30 endorsements had been lifted months earlier. However, incumbent Zine El Abidine Ben Ali easily won a third five-year term with a reported 99.4 percent of the vote. His Constitutional Democratic Rally won 148 of the 183 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Voter turnout was allegedly 92%.
General elections were held in Tunisia on 24 October 2004 to elect a President and Chamber of Deputies. In the presidential election, incumbent Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was re-elected for a fourth five-year term, allegedly with 94.49% of the vote. In the Chamber of Deputies elections his Constitutional Democratic Rally party won 152 of the 189 seats. Voter turnout was stated to be 91.52% in the presidential election and 86.41% for the Chamber election.
Fouad Mebazaa is a Tunisian politician who was the acting president of Tunisia from 15 January 2011 to 13 December 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 was Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of Tunisia from 1991 to 2011.
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During the Tunisian Revolution President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia on 14 January 2011 Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi then briefly took over as Acting President. On the morning of 15 January 2011 Ghannouchi had handed over the presidency to Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Fouad Mebazaa, This was done after the head of Tunisia's Constitutional Council, Fethi Abdennadher declared that Ghannouchi did not have right to power and confirmed Fouad Mebazaa as acting president under Article 57 of the 1959 Constitution. Ghannouchi returning to his previous position as prime minister was confirmed as prime minister by Mebazaa and formed a new national unity government on 17 January 2011 that included members of opposition parties, civil society representatives, and even a blogger who only a week previous had been imprisoned by the regime of the deposed president. On 27 February 2011 the government was dissolved and replaced by a new government led by Beji Caid Essebsi.
Liberalism in Tunisia, or Tunisian Liberalism, is a school of political ideology that encompasses various political parties in the country.
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