Free Patriotic Union
Free Patriotic Union | |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Slim Riahi |
| Founded | May 19, 2011 |
| Headquarters | Lake Forum Bld Les Berges du Lac 1053 Tunis |
| Newspaper | Tounès El Horra |
| Ideology | Social liberalism Neoliberalism Populism |
| Political position | Centre |
| Religion | Secularism |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Red |
| Assembly of the Representatives of the People | 16 / 217 |
| Website | |
| upl.tn | |
The Free Patriotic Union (Arabic: الاتحاد الوطني الحرّ Al-Ittiḥād Al-Waṭanī Al-Ḥurr; French: Union patriotique libre), known by its French acronym UPL, is a political party in Tunisia.
History and profile
Established in May 2011 as Union patriotique libérale and renamed to Union patriotique libre in June 2011, the party was founded and has been led by the British-Tunisian petroleum entrepreneur Slim Riahi who had been raised in his family's Libyan exile and had returned from London right after the Tunisian revolution in January 2011.[1][2]
The party proposes free-market economy and a modern society and rejects Islamism.[3]
The UPL has mainly been noted for its expensive and lavish electoral campaign. It has offered bus trips to party rallies to potential voters. As opposed to most other parties that rely on the voluntary commitment of their members, the Free Patriotic Union can afford to pay its candidates and campaigners. This has earned the party the accusation of "buying" candidates and supporters.[4] Party leader's Riahi decision to buy 20% of the Dar Assabah media group raised suspicions of mixing business interests with political activity.[5] At the same time, the party came into conflict with Tunisia's Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) because it continued its advertising campaign from 12 to 30 September, ignoring ISIE's ban of canvassing during this period.[4]
In the parliamentary election in October 2011, the party received only 1.26% of the votes. However, in the Siliana district, the party managed to receive 6.3% of the votes and Noureddine Mrabti won the party's only seat for the Constituent Assembly. Together with twelve defectors from the Aridha Chaabia list, Mrabti founded the Liberty and democracy parliamentary group, which was later reorganized into the Democratic transition parliamentary group. However, only Hanène Sassi remained a permanent member of the party.
On 7 March 2013, it was announced that to create a new "centrist party of socialist-liberal orientation", seven minor parties decided to join forces with the UPL: the Third Alternative Party, the Modern Left Party, the Citizenship Movement, the Tunisian Liberal Party, the Social-Democratic Alternative, the Citizenship and Justice Party, and the Path of Will Party.[6]
For the parliamentary election in October 2014, the party submitted lists to all 33 electoral districts. With 4.02% of the votes it managed to win 16 of the 217 seats in the Assembly of the Representatives, making it the third largest parliamentary group right after the two dominant parties Nidaa Tounes and Ennahda.
Election results
| Election year | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituent Assembly of Tunisia | |||
| 2011 | 51,655 | 1,26% | 1 / 217
|
| Assembly of the Representatives of the People | |||
| 2014 | 137,110 | 4,02% | 16 / 217
|
References
- ^ Gamha, Eymen (3 October 2011), "Free Patriotic Union", Tunisia-live, retrieved 23 October 2011
- ^ Afef Abrougui (19 April 2014). "Tunisian media in flux since revolution". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ Bollier, Sam (9 October 2011), "Who are Tunisia's political parties?", Al Jazeera English, retrieved 22 October 2011
- ^ a b Yasmine Ryan (21 October 2011), "Tunisian newcomer spends big on campaign", Al Jazeera English, retrieved 23 October 2011
- ^ Eileen Byrne (27 September 2011), "Tunisia party runs into controversy", Financial Times, retrieved 23 October 2011
- ^ In French: [] Error: {{Lang}}: no text (help) le parti Troisième alternative, le parti de la Gauche moderne, le Mouvement citoyenneté, le Parti tunisien des libéraux, l'Alternative social-démocrate, le parti Citoyenneté et Justice et le parti Voie de la volonté. Tunisie : Une nouvelle fusion pour créer un grand parti d'orientation libérale
External links
- Official website (in Arabic)
