Tunisians go to polls haunted by ghosts of the old regime

[dipsydoodle]

Source: The Observer

Tunisia goes to the polls on Sunday in its first-ever free elections and the first vote by one of the "Arab spring" nations.

However, the mood of optimism is clouded by deep unease that, nine months after the revolution that ousted the dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the country remains dominated by the corrupt and brutal vestiges of the old regime.

Tunisians are set to elect an assembly that will have one specific mission: to draw up a new constitution before parliamentary elections can take place in at least one year. The Islamist party, An-Nahda, which was outlawed and brutally repressed by the old regime, is expected to take the biggest share of the vote.

The party says that it will challenge the western stereotype of Islamism, with its moderate, pro-democracy, pro-women's rights stance. But the complex proportional representation system being used in the poll means that, no matter the number of votes, no single party will have a majority or be able to dominate.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/23/tunisia-elections-haunted-by-ben-ali-regime

---

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

[CJCRANE]

1. I think some in the West are being a little impatient...

we've had centuries since our own revolutions and civil wars to develop democracy and the rule of law...and we're still trying to get it right.

[No Elephants]

4. Not really sure what you are talking about.

The rule of law was in place very early.

The colonies had courts and laws before the revolution. Granted, the Crown appointed Governors were the highest authority in the state, but that is a separate issue from whether we had a rule of law.

State Constitutions, notably that of Virgina, preceded the Constitution of the United States.

We also had two versions of the Articles of Confederation in place before the Constitution of the United States. And we had several Presidents before Washington.

And we had voting on the Constitution relatively quickly after the Revolution, and on Washington's election and also on the Bill of Rights, very soon after we voted on the Constitution.

And, bear in mind, in creating independence, the Constitution and our form of government, we were creating a template for something that had not previously existed in all of human history. France had our example, and nations that became independent more recently have had a variety of examples. But we were operating from scratch.

In the first few elections after the Revolution ended, there was no concern that "the country remains dominated by the corrupt and brutal vestiges of the old regime."

Mind you, I am not saying that the story is true or that Tunisia will not turn out okay. I am simply questioning your post

Nor were there counterparts for any of the other abuses cited in the story, at leaast not that appeared anywhere in the newspapers, histories, essays, diaries, etc. that have come down to us from that period.

I don't really understand how anyone who read the entire article could make that comparison.

[CJCRANE]

5. I agree with your points

but I was talking about "the West" in general (and also should have said "it took centuries to develop democracy and the rule of law to where we are now").

The democracies in America, France, Britain etc didn't spring up perfectly formed overnight, there were teething problems along the way to get everything that's been achieved so far.

But I agree we should be critical of the processes underway in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya (to keep them on the right track) but also have some historical perspective that these things take time to evolve.

[Posteritatis]

6. Absolutely

If you stretch the point a bit it took us better than eight hundred years to get near something we'd recognize as a proper universal franchise. If another country coming from a background that lacks most of that tradition takes, say, ten or twenty, I don't feel I can get too finger-pointy.

[pampango]

2. Top contenders in Tunisia’s election

These are the projected top four finishers in Tunisia’s election, based on polling data from Sigma Conseil, a Tunisian market research firm. The survey was done between Oct. 1 and 7, and it revealed considerable voter confusion in an election that features more than 110 parties vying for 217 assembly seats. Nearly half of the more than 2,000 Tunisians surveyed did not express a preference, according to Sigma Conseil.,

Ennahdha: A relatively moderate Islamist party that was banned in Tunisia under President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. The party — its name means “renaissance” — was oppressed and its members abused under Ben Ali. Ennahdha is the projected front-runner for the Constituent Assembly elections. The party, led by Rachid Ghannouchi, has expressed support for women’s rights.

Ettakkotol: Also called the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties, it is a center-left Tunisian party founded in 1994 and officially recognized in 2002. The party was considered an opposition party to Ben Ali’s Democratic Constitutional Rally party but was marginalized. Its founder and leader is Mustapha Ben Jafar, a radiologist who aspires to be Tunisia’s president.

Progressive Democratic Party: This secular, center-right party was founded in 1983 and was part of the legal but oppressed opposition under Ben Ali. The party has the backing of the business elite and is a direct competitor with Ettakkotol. Nejib Chebbi, the party founder, has served in Tunisia’s transitional government and has expressed a desire to lead the country.

Congress for the Republic: The centrist secular party was banned under Ben Ali and is led by the well-known Tunisian human rights activist Moncep Marzouki. After moving to Paris in 2002, he returned to Tunisia after Ben Ali’s ouster. Marzouki’s party is one of the few parties running candidates in every district. Marzouki has said he would like to run for president.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/top-contenders-in-tunisias-election/2011/10/21/gIQAgcaZ7L_story.html

It's safe to say that no matter who wins many republicans will claim that Obama has handed Tunisia (and Egypt and Libya, etc., etc., etc.) over to the Islamists. Better a dictator we can support than a democracy that is unpredictable.

Nice to see that Tunisia's interim president intends to resign. Many times leaders of successful revolutions suddenly find elections not as attractive as they seemed before the dictator was overthrown.

Tunisian president to step down

Tunisia's interim president Foued Mebazaa says he will step down after the Arab Spring's historic first election on Sunday, nine months after the toppling of strongman Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

'I will recognise the results whoever wins and whatever the colour of the majority (in the future assembly),' Mebazaa told the Arabic language Assabah appearing Sunday. 'I shall hand over power to whoever is chosen by the constituent assembly as the new president of the republic.'

'Sunday's elections may spring political surprises as they are the first pluralist, democratic elections since the revolution' that ousted Ben Ali after a 23-year reign, the interim president said. 'I am confident about the moderation of the Tunisian people and their leaders and I'm optimistic about the future of Tunisia and the smooth running of the elections,' he added.

http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=676953&vId=

[joshcryer]

3. I find the last paragraph of the quoted part of the article charming in light of your quote.

Western stereotypes, indeed.

[hue]

7. Huge turnout in Tunisia's Arab Spring election

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Tunisian voters poured into polling stations to vote on Sunday in their country's first free election, 10 months after vegetable seller Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in an act of protest that started the Arab Spring uprisings.

The leader of an Islamist party predicted to win the biggest share of the vote was heckled outside a polling station by people shouting "terrorist," highlighting tensions between Islamists and secularists being felt across the Arab world.

Bouazizi's dramatic suicide, prompted by despair over poverty and government repression, provoked mass protests which forced President Zine al-Abidine to flee Tunisia. This in turn inspired revolts in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/23/us-tunisia-election-idUSTRE79L28820111023

[hue]

8. Huge turnout in Tunisia's Arab Spring election

This thread has been combined with another thread.

Click here to read this message in its new location.