He won more than 99 per cent of the vote - also for the third time. However, the presidential poll, held simultaneously with parliamentary elections, was the first in which other, essentially symbolic, candidates took part. Seven opposition parties and seven independent lists failed to fill a 20 per cent quota allotted to them in a recent electoral law. However, the opposition did increase its representattt tion from 19 to 34 seats. Ben Ali will continue to rule autocratically through the RCD, the political colossus that has overwhelmed all opposition.
Personal freedoms remain elusive.
Amnesty International estimated that there are several thousand political prisoners languishing behind bars. No serious democratic changes can be expected during Ben Ali's third term. The government is committed to opposing Islamic fundamentalism, and its omnipresent security forces clearly have that problem under control. Tunis severed relations with Iran in 1987 after four tourist hotels were bombed. Ninety Islamists were arrested and two were executed.