Elections in Tunisia

Tunisia

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Tunisia

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Prior to the 2011 Tunisian revolution, Elections in Tunisia were held every five to six years, and elected both the president and members of both legislative branches to the national government of the Republic of Tunisia. Following the revolution, elections were held for a Constituent Assembly that will decide on a new constitution for Tunisia.

Executive branch

Main article: Politics of Tunisia

Prior to the revolution, the President was elected to five-year terms with no term limit. He appointed a prime Minister and cabinet, who play a strong role in the execution of policy. Regional governors and local administrators are appointed by the central government. Mayors and municipal councils, which fill a local consultative role, are elected. This system was established by a provision of the country's Code of Personal Status, introduced by the former President Habib Bourguiba in 1956.

Legislative branch

The Chamber of Deputies of Tunisia (Majlis al-Nuwaab) is Tunisia’s lower Chamber. It has 189 seats and members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. 20% of the seats are reserved for the opposition. The Chamber plays a role in debate on national policy but never originates legislation. 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.

Tunisia’s upper chamber, the Chamber of Councillors of Tunisia, was created in July 2002 by Parliament. Its membership is restricted to two-thirds of the number of members in the Chamber of Deputies. Members are elected or appointed. One or two members (determined by size of population) are elected from each governance. These members are selected by local authorities. A third of the members are elected by a group of employers, farmers and workers. These seats are divided equally among the three groups. The remaining seats (41) are filled by qualified presidential appointees. All members sit for six-year terms and half of the membership is renewed every three years. To be eligible for office, a candidate must be a voter with a Tunisian mother or father and at least 40 years old.

2009 elections

2009 Presidential election

 Summary of the 25 October 2009 Tunisian presidential election results

Candidates		Parties	Votes	%
	Zine El Abidine Ben Ali	Constitutional Democratic Rally	4,238,711	89.62
	Mohamed Bouchiha	Party of People's Unity	236,955	5.01
	Ahmed Inoubli	Unionist Democratic Union	179,726	3.80
	Ahmed Ibrahim	Ettajdid Movement	74,257	1.57
Valid votes			4,729,649	99.84
Blank or invalid votes			7,718	0.16
Total			4,737,367	100.00
Voter turnout			89.45
Electorate			5,296,008
Source: POGAR, (French) Business News

2009 Legislative election

 Summary of the 25 October 2009 Tunisian Chamber of Deputies election results

Parties		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Constitutional Democratic Rally	3,754,559	84.59	161	+9
	Movement of Socialist Democrats	205,374	4.63	16	+2
	Party of People's Unity	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	+6
	Ettajdid Movement	22,206	0.50	2	-1
	Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties	5,329	0.12	-	-
	Progressive Democratic Party	1,412	0.03	-	-
	Independent lists	11,552	0.26	-	-
Valid votes		4,438,497	99.80	214	+25
Blank or invalid votes		8,891	0.20
Total		4,447,388	100.00
Voter turnout		89.40
Electorate		4,974,707
Source: POGAR, (French) Business News

2011 Constituent Assembly election

 Summary of the 23 October 2011 Tunisian Constituent Assembly election result

Parties		Votes	%	Seats
	Ennahda Movement	1,501,320	37.04	89
	Congress for the Republic	353,041	8.71	29
	Popular Petition	273,362	6.74	26
	Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties	284,989	7.03	20
	Progressive Democratic Party	159,826	3.94	16
	The Initiative	129,120	3.19	5
	Democratic Modernist Pole	113,005	2.79	5
	Afek Tounes	76,488	1.89	4
	Tunisian Workers' Communist Party	63,652	1.57	3
	People's Movement	30,500	0.75	2
	Movement of Socialist Democrats	22,830	0.56	2
	Free Patriotic Union	51,665	1.26	1
	Democratic Patriots' Movement	33,419	0.83	1
	Maghrebin Liberal Party	19,201	0.47	1
	Democratic Social Nation Party	15,534	0.38	1
	New Destour Party	15,448	0.38	1
	Progressive Struggle Party	9,978	0.25	1
	Equity and Equality Party	7,621	0.19	1
	Cultural Unionist Nation Party	5,581	0.14	1
	Independent lists	62,293	1.54	8
	Unrepresented lists	1,290,293	31.83	-
Valid votes		4,053,148	94.06	217
Blank or invalid votes		255,740	5.94
Total		4,308,888	100.00
Voter turnout		51.97
Electorate		8,289,924
Source: Tunisia-Live.net

See also

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system

External links

• Interview with Neila C. Hachicha: "Tunisia's Election Was Undemocratic at All Levels", Middle East Quarterly, a Tunisian politician explains obstacle to democracy in her homeland.
• Adam Carr's Election Archive