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Tunisia: Tunisia Government Profile 2012

2012/04/05

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Tunisia Government Profile 2012

The Tunisian revolution is an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations taking place in Tunisia. The events began when Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year old Tunisian street vendor, set himself afire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official. This act became the catalyst for mass demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country. Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death on 4 January 2011, ultimately leading longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power. Street demonstrations and other unrest have continued to the present day. International Tunisian organizations, like the Tunisian Community Center in the US, has supported the protesters' aims toward democracy as-well, in-addition to TCC's efforts to freeze Ben Ali's assets abroad.

The demonstrations were precipitated by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption,the most dramatic wave of social and political unrest in Tunisia in three decades and have resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, most of which were the result of action by police and security forces against demonstrators.Labour unions were said to be an integral part of the protests. The protests inspired similar actions throughout the Arab world; the Egyptian revolution began after the events in Tunisia and also led to the ousting of Egypt's longtime president Hosni Mubarak; furthermore, protests have also taken place in Algeria, Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Mauritania, Pakistan and also Libya – where a civil war broke out– as well as elsewhere in the wider North Africa and Middle East.

 

Governates in Tunisia

Tunisia is organized administratively into governates. Tunis, the national capital, is located in the Tunis governate.

The following table lists each governate, including its capital, physical size, and population, in Tunisia.

Governate Capital Area (sq. km) Population (2008)
Al-KÄf (Le Kef) {Al-Kaf} Al-KÄf 4,965 256,700
Al-MahdÄ«yah (Mahdia) {Al-Mahdiyah} Al-MahdÄah 2,966 389,900
Al-MunastÄ«r (Monastir) {Al-Munastir} Al-MunastÄr 1,019 494,900
Al-Qaárayn (Kasserine) {Al-Qasrayn} Al-Qaárayn 8,066 424,900
Al-QayrawÄn (Kairouan) {Al-Qayrawan} Al-QayrawÄn 6,712 553,800
AryÄnah (Ariana) {Aryanah} AryÄnah 498 473,100
BÄjah (BÃja) {Bajah} BÄjah 3,558 304,300
Bin ‘ArÅ«s (Ben Arous) {Bin Arus} Bin ‘ArÅ«s 761 555,600
Binzart (Bizerte) Binzart 3,685 538,800
JundÅ«bah (Jendouba) {Jundubah} JundÅbah 3,102 420,500
MadanÄ«n (MÃdenine) {Madanin} MadanÄn 8,588 447,300
ManÅbah (Manouba) {Manubah} ManÅ«bah 1,060 358,600
NÄbul (Nabeul) {Nabul} NÄbul 2,788 733,400
QÄis (Gabès) {Qabis} QÄbis 7,175 354,400
Qafá¹£ah (Gafsa) {Qafsah} Qafáah 8,990 332,400
QibilÄ« (Kébili) {Qibili} QibilÄ 22,084 147,800
á¹¢afÄqis (Sfax) {Safaqis} áafÄqis 7,545 904,800
SÄ«dÄ« BÅ« Zayd (Sidi Bouzid) {Sidi Bu Zayd} SÄdÄ BÅ Zayd 6,994 405,900
SilyÄnah (Siliana) {Silyanah} SilyÄnah 4,631 233,200
SÅsah (Sousse) {Susah} SÅ«sah 2,621 590,400
TaáÄwÄn (Tataouine) {Tatawin} Taá¹­ÄwÄn 38,889 144,600
Tawzar (Tozeur) Tawzar 4,719 101,300
TÅ«nis [Tunis] {Tunis} TÅ«nis 346 992,900
ZaghwÄn (Zaghouan) {Zaghwan} ZaghwÄn 2,768 167,100
Government type: 

republic

Administrative divisions: 

24 governorates; Ariana (Aryanah), Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bou Zid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan)

Independence: 

20 March 1956 (from France)

National holiday: 

Independence Day, 20 March (1956); also the anniversary of BEN ALI's assumption of the presidency, 7 November (1987)

Constitution: 

1 June 1959; amended 1988, 2002

Legal system: 

based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 

18 years of age; universal except for active government security forces (including the police and the military), people with mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended sentence of more than six months

Legislative branch: 

bicameral system consists of the Chamber of Advisors (126 seats; 85 members elected by municipal counselors, deputies, mayors, and professional associations and trade unions; 41 members are presidential appointees; members serve six-year terms); and the Chamber of Deputies or Majlis al-Nuwaab (214 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Advisors - last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in July 2011); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 25 October 2009 (next to be held in October 2014); election results: Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - RCD 84.6%, MDS 4.6%, PUP 3.4%, UDU 2.6%, PSL 2.2%, PVP 1.7%, Al-Tajdid 0.5%; seats by party - RCD 161, MDS 16, PUP 12, UDU 9, PSL 8, PVP 6, Al-Tajdid 2; voter turnout 89.4%

Judicial branch: 

Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation

Political parties and leaders : 

Al-Tajdid Movement [Ahmed IBRAHIM]; Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique) or RCD [President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI] (official ruling party); Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties or FDTL [Mustapha Ben JAFAAR]; Green Party for Progress or PVP [Mongi KHAMASSI]; Liberal Social Party or PSL [Mondher THABET]; Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS [Ismail BOULAHYA]; Popular Unity Party or PUP [Mohamed BOUCHIHA]; Progressive Democratic Party [Maya JERIBI]; Unionist Democratic Union or UDU [Ahmed INOUBLI]; note - the Islamist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed

Political pressure groups and leaders: 

18 October Group [collective leadership]; Tunisian League for Human Rights or LTDH [Mokhtar TRIFI]

International organization participation: 

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC (suspended), OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Flag description: 

red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; resembles the Ottoman flag (red banner with white crescent and star) and recalls Tunisia's history as part of the Ottoman Empire; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam note: the flag is based on that of Turkey, itself a succesor state to the Ottoman Empire

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