2011 Tunisian Constituent Assembly election
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All 217 seats to the Constituent Assembly 109 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 49.41% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Member State of the African Union Member State of the Arab League |
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Africa portal Politics portal |
An election for a constituent assembly in
The result was announced after counting began on 25 October 2011,
Background
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2011) |
Senior party members of the disbanded former ruling party, the
The election campaign officially started on 1 October 2011.[8]
Electoral system
The
Domestic districts
Each
International districts
Eighteen of the 217 constituent assembly members represented Tunisians abroad. Almost a million Tunisians live abroad, with up to 500,000 Tunisians in France.[11]
Polling for expatriate Tunisians took place in 80 countries around the world. France, Tunisia's former colonial ruler, elected ten representatives; Italy three; Germany one; North America and the rest of Europe two; and other Arab states two.[12]
Around 60,000 Tunisians living in
Parties
- The largest and most organised party was the center-right and moderately Islamist Rachid Ghannouchi did not run in the election saying that he had no ambitions to be in government. Instead, General Secretary Hamadi Jebali ran as the prime ministerial candidate.[15]
- The Congress for the Republic (CPR), centered around secularism and intellectual freedom.
- Ettakatol or FDTL, a secular social democratic party. Most of its support came from social media and grassroots volunteers.
- Al Aridha, the Popular Petition for Freedom, Justice and Development, a populist party.
- The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) a secular, socially liberal, and economically centrist party, with leanings towards a mixed economy. Like Ennahda, it was well-funded and was able to run a nationwide campaign. The party benefitted from the support of the business community.[16][17]
- The Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) and represented key figures of the ousted Ben Ali regime.[17]
- The Democratic Modernist Pole, a coalition led by the Ettajdid Movement, which is primarily focused on implementing political change. It is strongly anti-Islamist. Support for the coalition has dwindled due to infighting and an increase in support for other secular parties.
- Afek Tounes, a liberal center-right party with focus on secularism and civil liberties.
- A number of communist parties, by far the largest of which is the trade union-centered Tunisian Workers' Communist Party. Although they had only limited support, they were well organized and expected to win seats. Many of these far-left parties were centered around human rights and anti-globalisation.
Issues
Secularism vs Islamism
The primary topic of discussion during the campaign was the role of secularism and Islam in public life. The repression of
Campaign finances
Another major issue was the role of campaign finances. The PDP alleged that Ennahda ran their campaign unfairly because, they claim, Ennahda received money from Gulf billionaires. However, Ennahda denied the claims and asserted that they simply used their money efficiently and fundraised more effectively due to having greater support. They pointed out that their moderate policies had alienated many people in the Gulf, who believed in radical
Form of government
As the Constituent Assembly had to decide on a new
Observers
There were more than 10,000 domestic and 500 international observers for the election, some members of delegations from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union and the Carter Center.[23]
Polls
Opinion polls showed that a large part of the population had not chosen for whom to vote. Ennahda was consistently placed first, followed by the Progressive Democratic Party, the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties and the Congress for the Republic. In general, parties founded before the revolution scored better than post-revolutionary parties.[24]
In a poll partly sponsored by Al Jazeera, 47% of the respondents said they strongly identified with Islamism, 19% with Arab nationalism and 19% with liberalism. Only 6% felt strongly in favour of communism or socialism, respectively.[25] A poll released by Sigma on 10 September showed that 57% of respondents agreed with a referendum that could set a limit on the duration of the Assembly's mandate, while 18.6% were against; 24.3% did not know.[24]
Although polling results varied from source to source, it was generally believed Ennahda would do well.[26] Most previously undecided voters shifted towards the secular, center-left parties while Ennahda support remained steady. After early September, polls showed a close race between Ennahda and a potential coalition of secular parties.
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Afek | Alwatan
|
CPR | Ennahda
|
Ettajdid/ PDM | Ettakatol | Initiative
|
MDS | PCOT
|
PDP | UPL | None |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ANSAmed[27] | 5 March 2011 | 1,021 | – | – | – | 29% | 7.5% | – | – | – | – | 12.3% | – | 61% |
Al Jazeera[25] | 28 May – 2 June 2011 | 1,244 | – | – | – | 21.0% | – | – | – | – | 5.0% | 8.0% | – | 54% |
Emrhod[28] | 8 June 2011 | 1,000 | – | – | 7.3% | 45.8% | 11.1% | – | – | – | 12.5% | 20.3% | – | 51% |
Sigma[29] | 10 June 2011 | 1,014 | 0.9% | 3.1% | 3.0% | 16.9% | 1.0% | 3.5% | 0.4% | – | 1.5% | 9.5% | – | 59.7% |
3C Études[30] | 7 July 2011 | ? | – | – | – | 14.3% | – | 1.6% | – | – | 0.8% | 4.7% | – | 67% |
ISTIS[31] | 28 August 2011 | 2,717 | 0.82% | 1.62% | 1.26% | 22.82% | 1.37% | 5.93% | 1.09% | 3.14% | 2.28% | 8.66% | 0.83% | – |
Sigma[24] | 10 September 2011 | 2,513 | 0.7% | 3.1% | 4.5% | 22.8% | 1.3% | 9.2% | 3.1% | – | 0.8% | 10.9% | 1.7% | 40% |
HSS[32] | 22–24 Sep 2011 | 1,035 | 3% | 3% | 8% | 25% | 2% | 14% | 3% | – | 3% | 16% | 3% | 21% |
Controversies
Date of election
On 8 May 2011, interim prime minister
The delay proved to be a very controversial issue, with the Ennahda Movement withdrawing from the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Revolution until the election date issue was resolved.[38]
The election, originally scheduled for 24 July 2011, was finally postponed to 23 October 2011 on 8 June 2011.
Tunisians in Canada
In September, the government of Canada declared that it would not allow Tunisia to open polling stations in its territory because it refused to be included in another country's electoral constituency. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird called the issue "a matter of Canadian sovereignty".[41] In response to Canada's opposition, Tunisia threatened to refuse to allow Canadian observers to monitor the election,[42] but later reversed its decision and decided to accredit them.[43] On 18 October, an agreement was reached between the two countries to allow Tunisians to cast their vote in Ottawa, at the Tunisian embassy's consular and diplomatic premises, and in Montreal, at the consulate and at a Tunisian community center.[44]
Results
There were a total of 11,686 candidates on 1,517 lists: 828 running with political parties, 655 running as
Tunisian expatriates elected their representatives on 20–22 October 2011.[46]
After Kemal Jendoubi, the head of the Electoral Commission, announced the result,
Maghrebin Liberal Party 13,053 | 0.32 | 1 | | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Independent | 12,172 | 0.30 | 1 | ||||
Fulfilment | 11,578 | 0.29 | 1 | ||||
The Hope | 10,681 | 0.26 | 1 | ||||
For a Tunisian National Front | 9,923 | 0.24 | 1 | ||||
Progressive Struggle Party | 9,329 | 0.23 | 1 | ||||
Justice | 9,221 | 0.23 | 1 | ||||
Equality and Justice Party | 7,619 | 0.19 | 1 | ||||
Social Struggle | 6,680 | 0.16 | 1 | ||||
Cultural Unionist Nation Party | 5,581 | 0.14 | 1 | ||||
Faith to the Martyrs | 3,869 | 0.10 | 1 | ||||
Other parties | 809,387 | 19.97 | 0 | ||||
Total | 4,053,905 | 100.00 | 217 | ||||
Valid votes | 4,053,905 | 94.13 | |||||
Invalid/blank votes | 252,630 | 5.87 | |||||
Total votes | 4,306,535 | 100.00 | |||||
Registered voters/turnout | 8,715,520 | 49.41 | |||||
Source: ISIE |
Reactions
Ennahda's Rachid Ghannouchi said after the victory announcement: "We salute Sidi Bouzid and its sons who launched the spark and we hope that God will have made Mohamed Bouazizi a martyr. We will continue this revolution to realize its aims of a Tunisia that is free, independent, developing and prosperous in which the rights of God, the Prophet, women, men, the religious and the non-religious are assured because Tunisia is for everyone."
Afek Tounes' had 17 high-level resignations after the election.[why?]
International
The former Iranian foreign minister and leader of the Islamic-nationalist opposition Freedom Movement of Iran Ebrahim Yazdi wrote to Nahda's al-Ghannouchi saying: "In Muslim countries once a set of despots have been overthrown, another set of despots immediately take their place. This is what happened in Iran. Despite struggling for fundamental rights, freedom and self-determination, we Muslims from any nationality lack sufficient experience with democracy. We struggle and overthrow dictators but we don't remove tyranny as a mode of governance and a way of life."[52]
Controversies and violence
There were also other minor violations of the electoral code in regards to publicity on the day of the election itself, but it was decided that those were not serious enough to warrant disqualification of the seats gained.[47]
Analysis
Aridha Chaabia's surprise success[58] was linked to its populist rhetoric and its party leader Mohamed Hechmi Hamdi being the only prominent politician not from the coastal regions (he was born in Sidi Bouzid). The party opted for campaigning in rural regions of Tunisia (particularly the south), which are often ignored by mainstream politicians.[59]
Despite concern amongst the Western media about a possible hindrance to women's rights as a result of Ennahda's plurality,[60] Souad Abdel Rahim of Ennahda said: "The doors are open for women now. We can sense that there has already been an impact. Even in Saudi Arabia, women can now vote," adding that Islamist parties in the Arab world should have a "framework" for women's advancement.[61]
Government formation
Ennahda stated it would propose Hamadi Jebali, the party's secretary-general, as the new PM, but would not field a candidate for president and was open to supporting another party's candidate or the incumbent interim PM.[62] Later, Ennahda named Mustapha Ben Jafar (secretary-general of Ettakatol), Moncef Marzouki (leader of CPR) and Beji Caid Essebsi (the interim PM) as possible candidates for the interim presidential period. Ettatakol stated that it would not nominate Ben Jafar for the position of prime minister, but was still not sure whether to participate in a coalition government[63] with Ennahda and CPR.[64]
On 28 October, Ennahda said a new government could be formed within ten days. Hamadi Jbeli said that talks had already begun on forming a coalition government with the priority agenda being to revive the national economy after the revolution. Rachid Ghannouchi added that Ennahda would honour its undertaking to write a new constitution within a year: "This government will look to establish common grounds through providing a government plan proposal for a year."[65]
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External links
- Election commission (ISIE) (Arabic and French)
- Results per constituencies (Arabic only)
- Very detailed and complete results, from whole constituencies down to individual voting stations Archived 14 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine (Arabic only)