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Eyes on the Tunisian Political System
Eyes on the Tunisian Political System

Eyes on the Tunisian Political System
The tunisian Parliament during the first speech of the President Kais Said
Before the 2011 Jasmine revolution, the political system in Tunisia bordered on dictatorship especially with President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. History marked ben Ali system  with instances of violations of human rights and freedom as well as oppression of opposition political parties. The regime was overthrown in 2011 with what we call the Arab spring flame in Tunis . The existing constitution was overthrown and a new one drafted by the Constituent Assembly. The government of Tunisia is a member of regional and international bodies such as the Arab League,  and the African Union. The Tunisian government has three branches the executive, legislature, and the judiciary. The president, prime minister, and the cabinet make up the Tunisian executive. The president appoints both the prime minister and cabinet members. The president is the head of state while the prime minister is the head of government. The legislative branch consists of a 217-member Assembly of the Representatives of the People, the vice and deputy vice president, and the president. The Assembly of the Representatives of the People replaced the bicameral parliament that existed before the revolution. The assembly has the power to impeach a president by a two-thirds majority. The judiciary is the legal branch of the government that enjoys independence from the executive and legislature.  The Ottomans established the first Tunisian constitution, the Fundamental Pact, in 1857. The second constitution, the Constitution of 1861, replaced the Fundamental Pact and established Tunisia as a constitutional monarchy. After gaining independence from France in 1956, a new constitution was drafted and later adopted in 1959. Amendments to the constitution were made several times in 1988, 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2008. After the jasmine revolution of 2011, a new constitution was drafted. The 2014 constitution established Tunisia as an open and decentralized government with executive power shared between the president and the prime minister. The 2014 constitution allows for press freedom (though controlled), religion and gender equality. The constitution recognizes Islam as the official religion of the state. Under the 2014 constitution, both parliamentary and presidential elections take place after every five years. The president is elected through a two-round system and must attain more than 50% of the total votes cast in the first round. In case the 50% mark is not reached, a re-run is conducted between the top two aspirants. The elected president serves for only one non-renewable five-year term. Parliamentary elections are conducted through a proportional party list system. The system seeks to achieve equal or proportional party representation. A person aspiring to become an assembly member has to be at least 23 years. The first elections after the revolution were held in 2014. Tunisian citizens of 18 and above years have the right to vote.