Nidaa Tounes 14
Politics Thameur Mekki 18 February 2019

Investigation: UPS Tunisia to the rescue of Nidaa Tounes

Having endured multiple scissions since coming to power at the end of 2014, Nidaa Tounes is all but in pieces. Today, the party is trying to mend its wounds by absorbing the Free Patriotic Union (UPL) and, seven years after its creation, organizing its first elective congress. To this end, a na-tional conference of regional coordinators was held in Mahdia over the weekend of December 21-23, 2018. The event is telling about the banalization of murky relations between the business world and Nidaa Tounes, whose own treasurer is playing the role of party financer.

Politics Nur Turkmani 09 September 2017

Caid Essebsi’s call to reform the inheritance law : landmark initiative or political tactic?

There has been a flare-up of public debate in Tunisia following President Beji Caid Essebsi’s controversial decision to form a committee that will reassess and reform the inheritance law. With some exceptions to the rule, this Qur’an-based law stipulates that women receive half the inherited allotment that men do. Essebsi, the leader of the catchall secular party Nidaa Tunis, noted that a reformation of inheritance laws is necessary for gender equality in Tunisia, a country that has become a role model in the Middle East for its democratic transition.

Blogs Ihsan Mejdi 03 August 2017

“Manich Msamah”: resistance in times of consensus

“Manich Msamah”: resistance in times of consensus The “Manich Msamah” [I will not forgive] campaign contests the adoption of a draft law introduced by President Beji Caid Essebsi in 2015, the law of “economic reconciliation”. The Presidency’s proposed bill addresses past economic violations, mainly financial corruption and misuse of public funds. Public uproar last week before the bill was passed on to parliament stemmed from the possibility of impunity for corrupt state officials and businessmen once the law is passed.

Politics Vos Contributions 18 January 2016

Should we even bother to vote?

Voting in a corrupt, fraudulent election is providing legitimacy to organized financial crime. Not until basic transparency criteria are met, could we have a fair election on a national level. Considering the rotten political reality, the only alternative available is the street, as populist as it may sound.

Media Nadia Haddaoui 20 December 2014

Tunisia: Media Sink Back into Collusion ahead of run-off vote

In this extremely polarized electoral context, how did the media frame the public discussion and shaped the public opinion? A very bad role, if one believes the 3rd report of Independent High Authority for Audio-Visual Communication (Haica) on the political pluralism, which points the partiality of the audio-visual coverage of the presidential campaigns. Furthermore, the press took a dangerous turn when being engulfed in shifting sands of propaganda and voluntary complicity. But these repetitions seem to worry neither the politicians, nor the journalists.

Blogs Mohamed Firas Arfaoui 09 December 2014

All that glitters: Tunisian Democratic-Exception?

Media coverage of the MENA region is plagued by blanket statements and superficial analysis. International news outlets reserve even the right to name events. The so-called Arab Spring is an example of a de facto forced label. I will proceed to call the events bundled as such, rightfully and as their proponents overwhelmingly agree: Arab Revolutions. To the matter at hand: Tunisia’s ongoing general elections are hailed as the sole success-story of the Arab revolutions. Democratic transitions are complicated and that statement is a gross Orientalist over-simplification.

Politics Callum Francis Hugh 24 November 2014

Tunisia: A Revolution Anesthetized ?

Never underestimate the killer instincts of a class whose power and influence are under threat. They bite back, and hard. For make no mistake, with the huge margin of victory Nidaa Tounis managed to muster a few weeks ago in the legislative elections, the bite was a sizable one and subsequently any chance of fundamental social and political change have been dealt an unquantifiable blow.

Politics Vanessa Szakal 22 November 2014

Tunisia’s Presidential Elections 2014: campaign posters, public communication and political marketing

In this last phase of electoral campaigning, our presidential candidates have flooded television and radio stations to present their political programs. While some have limited public communication to a discourse concerning the constitionally-imposed attributes of a president, others appeal to undecided voters with a discourse devoted to populist issues, and still others have made far-fetched promises that are well beyond their capacity to keep.

Politics Vanessa Szakal 02 November 2014

Strategic vote, non-vote, and the relative victor–Nidaa Tounes

Secularists defeated Islamists is the verdict most commonly reported in international news outlets; Victory and defeat are relative, Tunisian journalists estimate. The politicization of the secularist-Islamist conflict throughout the Ben Ali’s tenure and the increased occurrences of religious violence after the revolution reflect a true conflict that is by no means the defining feature of the country’s democratic transition nor the 2014 elections.

Politics Meriem Dhaouadi 03 February 2013

Tunisia: Weekly Political Review. Cabinet Reshuffle Fails to Materialise

The week promised to shake up considerably the political landscape in Tunisia. Contrary to the expectations of most observers, the long awaited cabinet reshuffle announcement was delayed due to the lack of consensus among the leading troika as announced Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali on Saturday. The new-born troika of the opposition (Nidaa Tounes, Republican Party al Massar) went almost unnoticed since the Popular Front (a unified political alliance of left-wing parties) seems to be still reluctant to join the new political and electoral front.