Political Context
In January 2011, a spontaneous citizen-led movement toppled the regime of authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ushering in a political transition with significant opportunities for democratic development. Under the leadership of transitional governing institutions, political actors agreed on a broad framework for a democratic transition and free and fair elections.
On Oct. 23, 2011, Tunisians elected a national constituent assembly (NCA) tasked with drafting a new constitution and preparing follow-on national elections for a new government. For the first time in the country’s history, an independent election commission organized the election and adopted measures to ensure that the vote transpired freely and fairly. NDI led an international observation mission to the 2011 constituent assembly elections, deploying 47 observers to regions across Tunisia to observe voting and counting. While the delegation noted an array of administrative problems, NDI characterized the election as an extraordinary achievement and milestone, especially after decades of authoritarian rule.
While the progress achieved to date has been commendable, Tunisia faces a wide array of challenges in assuring a steady, continuous democratic transition. As the newly elected NCA debates a draft constitution, Tunisia continues struggling to address the challenges of unemployment, internal insecurity and disparities in regional development. Political parties and civil society have a vital role to play in influencing decision-making to respond to these priorities as the transition moves forward.
Political Party Development
Under the tightly controlled political context of the Ben Ali regime, Tunisia had nine legal political parties. During this time, NDI led targeted programs to strengthen parties as proponents of a more open political system. In post-revolution Tunisia, more than 110 political parties are benefitting from newfound freedoms and competing to represent citizens in elected government. In a short timeframe, they are establishing structures, defining platforms, recruiting members, competing in elections and learning how to negotiate the contours of a new constitution within the NCA.
NDI works to assist parties with their efforts to ensure a democratic political system firmly anchored to principles of participation, inclusion and accountability. In the weeks following the revolution, NDI invited senior political leaders from countries that underwent recent democratic transitions—such as Bulgaria, Portugal and Spain—to share insights with Tunisian parties. As parties prepared for the NCA elections, NDI experts led consultations and workshops in Tunis and around the country on internal organization, strategic communication, campaign strategy, candidate training, women’s political participation and party pollwatching. These programs placed an emphasis on the value of grassroots outreach to voters. To assist parties with developing targeted messages that resonate with citizens’ priorities, NDI also conducts qualitative studies of Tunisian public opinion, including a youth-focused study in March and a targeted pre-election study in September, and shares the results with party members and civil society.
In this new phase of the transition following the election, NDI’s programs aim to reinforce ties between parties and citizens through public fora and debate, with particular attention to supporting women and youth party leadership.
Strengthening Civil Society
Prior to January 2011, only a handful of Tunisian civil society organizations (CSOs) were active and independent. Since 2009, the Institute has developed close relationships with these organizations through capacity-building initiatives in areas such as new media strategy, advocacy and women’s empowerment. The Institute is now working with Tunisian civil society to develop frameworks to oversee the transition process and act as a counterweight to political parties and transitional institutions. Recognizing the pivotal role of the interior regions in the transition, NDI led a nationwide assessment of civil society. NDI implemented a nationwide initiative to support CSOs’ efforts to monitor the October elections. A critical component of these sessions was the exchange of comparative experiences in domestic election monitoring with civic activists from other countries such as Morocco, Lebanon and Romania. With the Institute’s assistance, a coalition of CSOs fielded more than 2,000 observers to observe voting across the country. NDI is currently working to translate these efforts into longer-term oversight of the political process.
Contact Information
For more information about these programs, use our contact form or contact:
Washington, D.C.
Nicholas Collins, Program Officer
ncollins@ndi.org
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