Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Guida alle elezioni tunisine

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/10/201110614579390256.html
 
 
Who are Tunisia's political parties?
 
On October 23, Tunisian voters will have 81 parties and hundreds of 
independent candidates to choose from.
 
Sam Bollier Last Modified: 09 Oct 2011 14:38
 
Campaigns for the constituent assembly election in Tunisia officially 
began on October 1 [Aude Osnowycz/Al Jazeera]
Ten months since the uprising that brought down long-time Tunisian ruler 
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, 81 political parties - as well as hundreds of 
independent candidates - are slated to compete in an election to be held 
October 23. The election will send 217 Tunisians to serve in the 
constituent assembly, which will rewrite the country’s constitution and 
appoint a new government.
 
Until this past January, Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) 
party dominated the legislature, winning large majorities in elections 
most believed were rigged. Only a handful of opposition parties, such as 
the Progressive Democratic Party and Ettakatol were allowed to operate. 
Others, such as the Islamist al-Nahda and the centre-left Congress Party 
for the Republic, were banned, and operated from abroad.
 
The following is a summary of some of the most prominent political 
parties competing in the upcoming election.
 
Al-Nahda (The Renaissance)
 
Founded in 1981, al-Nahda (The Renaissance) is leading in the latest 
opinion poll, with 25 per cent of respondents saying they favoured the 
Islamist party. In elections held in 1989, al-Nahda came in second place 
to the RCD. Shortly afterwards, al-Nahda was banned, and its leader 
Rachid Ghannouchi fled the country for the UK, from which he recently 
returned after having lived there for 20 years.
 
Tunisia is one of the most socially liberal Arab countries. Not wishing 
to alienate potential voters, al-Nahda’s leadership has stressed that it 
supports equal rights for men and women. “We are against the imposition 
of the headscarf in the name of Islam and we are against the banning of 
the headscarf in the name of secularism or modernity,” Ghannouchi told 
Al Jazeera. Al-Nahda consciously takes after Turkey's ruling Justice and 
Development (AKP) party, with Ghannouchi saying that “if you were to 
compare it [with another movement], cannot be compared to the Taliban or 
Iran, the closest comparison would be to the AKP … We admire the Turkish 
case and those who are in charge of it are our close friends.”
 
The party also emphasises that it supports democracy, pluralism and, to 
some extent, working with the West.
 
Nevertheless, secularists remain wary of al-Nahda, whose party’s 
strongest support comes from Tunisia’s rural interior. The party is 
well-organised, and news website Tunisia Live reported that the party 
has paid for Ramadan meals and wedding ceremonies in attempts to garner 
votes.
 
Progressive Democratic Party
 
Like Al-Nahda, the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) has a relatively 
long history - founded in 1983 by Ahmed Najib Chebbi, it was one of only 
a few parties legal under Ben Ali’s regime. The secular PDP sees 
al-Nahda as its rival: AFP wrote that Chebbi has accused al-Nahda of 
wanting to institute an “ideological state”.
 
In 2006, Maya Jribi was appointed as PDP’s secretary-general, the first 
woman to hold such a position in Tunisia. Chebbi has served as Tunisia’s 
Regional Development Minister since January. The party supports a raise 
in the minimum salary, and easing regulations to increase foreign 
investment.
 
The latest figures show the PDP polling about 16 per cent. According to 
political scientist Larbi Sadiki, a coalition including the PDP and Slim 
Riahi's Free Patriotic Union (UPL) party could be likely.
 
Ettakatol (Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties)
 
Ettakatol (also known as the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties, 
or FDTL) is now running head-to-head with the PDP, according to polls. 
The centre-left party, founded in 1994 but legalised only in 2002, puts 
great emphasis on transparency, and one of its main goals is to reduce 
corruption. Accordingly, Ettakatol publicly released the party’s budget 
and membership information in September. According to Tunisia Live, the 
party is gaining about 20,000 members per week.
 
Tunisia Live also reported that Ettakatol is one of very few political 
parties in Tunisia to call for inheritance laws that ensure equality 
between men and women, and to condemn domestic rape. However, none of 
Ettakatol’s candidate lists are led by women. The party seems to have a 
strong volunteer base, who go door-to-door to talk to potential voters 
about Ettakatol’s platform. The party also boasts one of the most 
vibrant social media platforms. It says it will form coalitions with 
other democratic progressive parties.
 
Ettakatol's leader, Mustafa Ben Jaafar, briefly served as Tunisia’s 
health minister earlier this year.
 
Congress Party for the Republic
 
Like Ettakatol, the Congress Party for the Republic (CPR) is also a 
centre-left, secular party. The party was founded in 2001 but banned the 
following year. Moncef Marzouki, a human rights activist and physician, 
ran the CPR from exile in France, returning to Tunisia this year.
 
Moncef Marzouki (centre) near Sidi Bouzid [Yasmine Ryan/Al Jazeera]
According to its website, much of CPR’s platform revolves around civil 
liberties, such as abolishing the political police, lifting censorship, 
and establishing legislation that ensures the freedoms set forth by the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CPR refuses to accept funding 
from businesses and other external sources. A recent poll found CPR with 
8 per cent of voters supporting it.
 
Free Patriotic Union
 
Of the Tunisian political parties founded after the Tunisian uprising, 
the Free Patriotic Union (UPL) is perhaps the most interesting - and 
controversial. The UPL was launched this year by wealthy 39-year-old 
businessman Slim Riahi, who grew up as an ex-patriate in Libya, where he 
made his fortune in energy and property development. Riahi returned to 
Tunisia this year.
 
The UPL, which is thought to be funded largely by Riahi’s wealth, says 
it is a centrist party that supports a free-market economy and modernist 
values. In an interview with Al Chourouk, Riahi has stated that he views 
al-Nahda as a major rival, and has refused to work with the Islamist 
party. The UPL launched a massive advertising campaign this summer, one 
of only three parties to do so (the others were PDP and Ettakatol). 
Nevertheless, the UPL is barely making a dent in opinion polls.
 
In August, Riahi announced that he wanted to buy a 20 per cent stake in 
Dar Assabah, a big Tunisian newspaper publisher. As a result, the 
Financial Times mentions that Tunisian bloggers worry that Riahi is 
trying to become a “Tunisian Berlusconi”. Riahi is not running for 
office himself.
 
Tunisian Workers Communist Party
 
The Tunisian Workers Communist Party (PCOT), a Marxist-Leninist 
political party, was founded in 1986, but was banned until this year. 
Most of its candidates running for the constituent assembly hail from 
Tunisia’s coastal regions. PCOT is well-organised, and is particularly 
popular with Tunisia’s student population. Many of the so-called “Kasbah 
protestors”, who have been demonstrating in Tunis’ Kasbah Square since 
January for more revolutionary changes to Tunisia’s political system, 
also support PCOT.
 
PCOT party leader Hamma Hammami [Yasmine Ryan/Al Jazeera]
PCOT was excluded from participating in the national coalition 
government that was formed after Ben Ali’s fall. The party is led by 
Hamma Hammami, who has been jailed several times since the 1970s for his 
political activities. In 1994, Hammami was arrested, tortured, and 
threatened with death, according to an Amnesty International report. His 
most recent stint in jail was this pastJanuary, for speaking to 
journalists about the demonstrations roiling Tunisia at the time.
 
Democratic Modernist Coalition
 
Some parties have formed alliances heading into the October 23 election. 
The Democratic Modernist Coalition (PDM) was formed in May as an 
alliance between several parties, including Ettajdid (Renewal), the 
Leftist Socialist Party, the Republican Party, and the Centrist Way.
 
Ettajdid, which was legalised in 1993 after ending its support for 
communism and adopting a centre-left ideology, is probably the most 
prominent PDM member.
 
A secular movement, the PDM is the only major outfit to have election 
lists half of which are led by female candidates. It is also running 
what may the youngest candidate: Amal Nasser, a 24-year-old student. The 
alliance favours the abolition of the death penalty (which, though still 
legal in Tunisia, has not been used for 20 years), and inheritance laws 
that don’t discriminate on the basis of sex.
 
Afek Tounes
 
Policy-wise, Afek Tounes is a polar opposite of PCOT. This right-wing 
party was founded by neoliberal economists and is led by Emna Mnif, a 
medicine professor.
 
According to a Nawaat interview with Mnif, Afek Tounes is often 
perceived to be bourgeois and elite. In July, Afek Tounes tried to hold 
a meeting in Sidi Bouzid - the city where the Tunisian uprising began - 
but residents, believing that Afek Tounes was linked to Ben Ali’s hated 
Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party, burned Afek Tounes’ banner 
and prevented the meeting from taking place. However, an Afek Tounes 
spokesman denied that there were any such links to the RCD.
 
Al-Waten (The Nation), Al-Moubedra (The Initiative), Justice and 
Liberty, The Independence for Liberty
 
Several parties have emerged out of Ben Ali’s Constitutional Democratic 
Rally (RCD) party. These parties include al-Waten (The Nation), founded 
by RCD members who had previously served as Minister of Trade and 
Tourism and Minister of the Interior; al-Moubedra (The Initiative); the 
Justice and Liberty party; and The Independence for Liberty party.
 
Hizb ut-Tahrir
 
Ridha Belhadj [Aude Osnowycz/Al Jazeera]
Over 100 political parties were granted permission to run candidates in 
the upcoming constituent assembly election. Hizb ut-Tahrir, a Salafist, 
pan-Islamist party, has not been allowed to participate, because 
Tunisian authorities have argued that parties that do not respect 
democracy cannot be legalised. However, Hizb ut-Tahrir leader Ridha 
Belhadj told Al Jazeera, "We don't need authorisation from the 
government, we have authorisation from the people".
 
Compared to al-Nahda, Hizb ut-Tahrir is smaller and more conservative. 
The party, which was banned under Ben Ali's rule, held a rally on 
January 15, the day after Ben Ali fled Tunisia.
 
Tunisian Pirate Party
 
The small Tunisian Pirate Party (PPT) garnered media attention in 
January, when several party members were arrested and jailed by the Ben 
Ali regime for participating in anti-government protests. After Ben 
Ali’s departure, Slim Amamou, a Pirate Party member who was tortured 
during his detention, was appointed to be Tunisia’s Secretary of State 
for Sport and Youth. However, Amamou - who is also the CEO of a web 
development company - resigned in May after the Tunisian government 
blocked several websites.
 
The PPT is loosely affiliated with an international movement of Pirate 
Parties that support copyright reform, the right to privacy, and 
government transparency. However, Tunisia’s Interior Ministry said that 
it would not recognise the legalisation of the PPT for the upcoming 
election.
 
Independent Candidates
 
Candidates unaffiliated with any party can run as independents, and run 
their own lists of candidates. Although they often lack the monetary and 
organisational support that party affiliation can offer, some 
independents could do quite well. About 45 per cent of the electoral 
lists submitted to Tunisia's High Authority for the Elections are 
independent candidate lists, writes Tunisia Live.
 
Prominent independents include:
 
Abdennaceur Laouini, a left-wing activist and lawyer who was a leader of 
the Tunisian lawyers' protest in December 2010. Laouini is running in 
Sfax. He told Al Jazeera that "candidates running on independent lists 
are disadvantaged" because "the election process is centred on lists, 
not individuals, a detail which favours political parties".
Youssef Seddik, an anthropologist and philosopher who heads an 
independent list running in a Tunis suburb;
Abdelfattah Morou, a former al-Nahda member who has put together 20 
independent, allied lists across Tunisia;
Riadh Guerfali, a law professor and blogger who writes for the dissident 
website Nawaat.org, running in the city of Bizerte;
Yassine Ayari, a cyberactivist who campaigns against internet 
censorship, running in Zaghouan.
 
-- 
Namib
 
"Per realitatem et perfectionem idem intelligo" (Baruch Spinoza)

 
http://english.aljazeera.net
 
 
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