Mohamed Hechmi Hamdi, leader of the Current of Love (Tayar al- Mahaba) party was sure he might fare well in the November 2014 presidential elections even though he spent the last couple of decades abroad in Great Britain, where he also holds citizenship. His party, however, lost seats in the October parliamentary elections. Still, the […]

The oversized graffiti of presidential candidate Beji Caid Essebsi in the center of Barcelona Square in Tunis’ central train station can be seen by thousands travelling through the capital’s hub. “We Love our Bejbouj,” a nickname used by Essebsi’s supporter adorns the image. Many Essebsi opponents were provoked by the mural because the two artists […]

“It is not suitable for leftists to get engaged in this popular folklore, such as visiting the  tombs of the righteous persons or begging people to convince them that they are Muslims and religious persons like them,” said Mukhtar al-Ahwali, when he attacked the pious behavior of some of the leaders of the Popular Front […]

Tunisian journalists Sufian Al-Shourabi and Nazir al-Katari have not been heard from since September 8, shortly after they had been in police custody for trespassing in Libyan oil fields while reporting for Tunisian television. Shortly after their one-day detainment, they called their families but have not been heard from since. Tunisian journalists Sufian Al-Shourabi and […]

Muhammad al-Sughayer, a former Member of Parliament once sat helplessly in front of the staircase of the National Constituent Assembly, impatiently waiting for his two colleagues to carry him to the first floor where legislative sessions take place. Al-Sughayer had nominated himself in the October 23, 2011 elections for the Ennahda Movement and won a […]

Tunisia’s legislative elections brought a new winner in town, re-shuffled the balance of power and possibly complicated the political scene in the country instead of clarifying it.  Nidaa Tounes Party, which ranked first in the October 26 elections—winning 86 seats in the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) ahead of Ennahda, which won 69 seats—will be obliged […]

Political parties that struggled under Ben Ali’s tenure were finally able to breathe freely after the 2011 revolution and get a short taste of leadership. Since Tunisia’s October 26 legislative elections, however, these parties may now be facing extinction. What did them in? Most likely their alliance with Ennahda. Although Ennahda lost its majority in […]

Not everyone was convinced that Tunisia’s first post-revolutionary legislative elections on October 26, which transferred the majority of seats from the Islamist party—Ennahda—to the liberal secularist party Nida Tunis, would be a success. Fears of low voter turnourt and threats of terrorism loomed over the historic day, which passed peacefully and saw a voter turnout […]

His opponents describe him as a politically stubborn and argumentative dinosaur afraid of becoming extinct, while his supporters call him Tunisia’s wise man and its saviour from collapse after the revolution. He is Beji Caid el Sebsi, veteran politician, the last Tunisian prime minister before the revolution, leader of the Nidaa Tounes (“Call of Tunisia”) party, […]

If you ask Sharifa about the elections that will take place in less than a month in Tunisia, she will look at you in surprise, as if she doesn’t even know the meaning of the word. She might also bend her head, trying to recall any similar words she knows – as if looking for […]