NDI - Tunisia

New Survey Points to Fluctuations in Popularity of Tunisian Political Parties and Leaders | March 23, 2012

fgalleto — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:19:06 +0000

According to a new survey conducted by “I Watch,” an independent Tunisian organization, President Moncef Marzouki saw his popularity decline from 69% in January to 62% in February, while the popularity of his political party, Congress for the Republic (CPR), remained steady at 22% over the same period.

Ennahdha’s popularity decreased from 56% in January to 52% in February, while the popularity of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and Ettakattol both increased slightly by 1% from 10% to 11% and 8% to 9% respectively.

Link to story »

Pelosi, Congressional Delegation Arrive in Tunisia | March 17, 2012

fgalleto — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:30:53 +0000

The State | Link to story »

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi led a Congressional delegation to Tunisia today, where the Members of Congress met with high-ranking government officials, including Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali.

Additionally, the delegation held discussions with Tunisian and American non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including representatives from the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute and International Federation of Electoral Systems.

Link to story »

Final Report on the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly Election

fgalleto — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:46:34 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

02/17/2012

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

Arabic, English, French

English

Arabic

French

Attachment	Size
Read the report (Arabic)	2.73 MB
Read the report (English)	1.91 MB
Read the report (French)	4.55 MB

Tunisians Hold High Expectations for Jobs, Constitution, Opinion Research Finds

fgalleto — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:03:57 +0000

Nearly a year after Tunisia’s nationwide protests led to the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and inspired uprisings across the Arab world, Tunisians remain proud of their accomplishments and hold high expectations for their new government, according to recent focus group research conducted by NDI.

Tunisians were motivated to vote in October by an overwhelming sense of civic duty.

National Constituent Assembly (NCA) elections held Oct. 23 were a cathartic experience for citizens, who were able to choose their political leaders for the first time. Reactions to the election results – the moderate Islamist party Ennahda won 42 percent of seats – vary widely, but there is broad recognition that elections were an important political landmark. Participation in the elections reinforced commitment to the goals of the revolution and citizens now hope to play a role monitoring the performance of elected leaders.

The Institute has conducted focus group research throughout Tunisia since March 2011 to provide political and civic leaders with timely and objective information about citizens’ priorities and attitudes during the political transition. The most recent round, conducted in December, explored attitudes toward newly-elected leadership and post-election expectations for political, social and economic development. Here are some key findings:

Tunisians continue to view dignity – political, social and economic – as the primary goal of the revolution. New freedoms and increased political pluralism have been key achievements thus far toward that goal.
Citizens understand that political progress will be slow and consider it largely on track. They lack a similar patience for economic and social improvements. A rise in unemployment and the cost of living are consistently identified as concerns that the new government must address immediately, with youth feeling most affected by a lack of job opportunities. Security is another issue that citizens expect the new government to address immediately.
Tunisians were motivated to vote in October by an overwhelming sense of civic duty. Confidence in the election administration was high, despite anticipated and observed flaws. Voters cited a range of influences on their decisions at the ballot box, including religion, regional loyalty and party platform.
Understanding of democracy has expanded beyond freedom of expression to include individual responsibilities, like voting and accountability for lawmakers. Although they express interest in remaining politically active, citizens lack clear avenues to stay engaged between elections. Women encounter the most difficulty in this regard and often express the view that they have turned their rights over to elected officials to make decisions on their behalf.
Citizens consider the newly-elected NCA – whose mandate is still being defined – responsible for both drafting the country’s new constitution and creating jobs. Tunisians give equal importance to these two priorities. Expectations regarding the constitution-drafting process are varied, with strong support for a referendum on a draft constitution. For the first time, Tunisian citizens have high expectations for transparency and responsiveness to constituent needs, and citizens point with concern to the lack of party outreach since the elections.

Research and production of this report was made possible with funding from the State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).

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Published Jan. 26, 2012

Revolution to Reform: Citizen Expectations on the One-Year Anniversary of the Tunisian Uprising

fgalleto — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:32:05 +0000

Author:

Nicole Rowsell, Asma Ben Yahia

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/26/2012

Resource Type:

Focus Group Report

Language:

English, Arabic

English

Arabic

Attachment	Size
Read the report (English)	804.63 KB
Read the report (Arabic)	1.19 MB

'Not wanting to take it anymore'

ntekeei — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:47:36 +0000

Source:

Winnipeg Free Press

Article Link:

Published Date:

12/28/2011

NDI's Les Campbell, regional director for Middle East and North Africa programs, compares 2011's Arab Spring to the fall of the Berlin Wall in this article about the Tunisian spark that started the protests across the region.

"These are tectonic shifts," said Campbell of the changes in Arab governance. "It was unimaginable a couple of years ago. But at the same time it has been a long time coming. ... This is about human dignity and people not wanting to take it anymore."

In Tunisia, how to build a democracy

ntekeei — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:01:55 +0000

Source:

Los Angeles Times

Article Link:

Published Date:

12/21/2011

Author Sarah Chayes highlights a conversation she had with a newly elected member of the Tunisian parliament in this Los Angeles Times editorial. Chayes illustrates the interactions between the left-leaning and secular opposition member and his constituents as well as the questions he grapples with regarding governance in Tunisia.

"Wiping his eyes when the waiter leaves, he changes the subject: 'Here's a question. When they announce the members of the Cabinet, should we, as the opposition, vote no confidence as a matter of principle? That's what some of my party wants. But I'm not sure. I don't know if it's right to systematically oppose everything this government does. The people want change; they'll see us as obstructionist. Besides, the government might have some good ideas.'"

In Tunisia and elsewhere, Islamist parties face a test

ntekeei — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:43:32 +0000

Source:

The Washington Post

Article Link:

Published Date:

11/30/2011

The Washington Post Editorial Board writes that, as Egyptians voted just a few days ago, we should be reminded that Islamic political parties are not always enemies of democracy. For example, in October, Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party won a majority of the popular vote, and it is showing itself to be committed to open political participation, the board writes.

"In any true Arab democracy, Islamist parties will win a lot of votes. As long as they are willing to play by the rules, those parties should not be treated as a specter to be feared."

Women Win Big in Tunisia Vote | Nov. 5, 2011

fgalleto — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:42:07 +0000

Miller-McCune | Link to story »

Post-dictatorship Tunisia’s recent election for assembly benefitted women and showed the power of technology. With Tunisia’s ballot boxes closed but not stuffed, the real political winners in the country’s first free election are women.

Working as an official observer for the National Democratic Institute last week, I was struck both by how well women have fared in the new democratic process and how patient and proud many Tunisians were as they were handed a real ballot. Counting those ballots took a full week. But in a part of the world with little experience in administering fair elections, this is a logistical triumph.

Link to story »

In Tunisia, Elections Lead the Way for the Region | Nov. 4, 2011

fgalleto — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:38:45 +0000

The Yale Globalist | Link to story »

On October 24th, Tunisian voters waited for up to six hours for the chance to exercise their right to vote and elect a new constituent assembly.

Indeed, Tunisia has instituted a quota system that ensures that women hold a number of seats in the new constituent assembly. U.S. Representative Jane Harman, who has been working with the National Democratic Institute on its observer mission, predicts that as many as 30% of the seats will go to women.

Link to story »

Middle East Activists, Albright and Isaacson Discuss What’s Next for the Arab Spring

rrunyan — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:22:02 +0000

A panel of political and civic activists from North Africa and the Middle East joined NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright and Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, to discuss what’s next for the Arab Spring at an event hosted by NDI on Monday, Nov. 7.

Panelists from Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen participated in the discussion, led off by former Secretary of State Albright led off the discussion and moderated by Isaacson.

Walter Isaacson (left to right), Atia Lawgali and Sheikh Mohammed Abu Luhoum discuss their Arab Spring experiences. (Photo by Kaveh Sardari)

Watch CSPAN's coverage of the discussion»

The panel was followed by the NDI 2011 Democracy Award Dinner where Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered the keynote address.

Panelists from Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen participated in the discussion, led off by former Secretary of State Albright and moderated by Isaacson.

Panelists for the Arab Spring discussion were:

Atia Lawgali, who joined the National Transitional Council in Libya as Minister of Culture in May, previously served as manager of the Health Department Information Center in the Ministry of Health in Benghazi from 1988 to 2000;

Sheikh Mohammed Abu Luhoum, a prominent founding member of the recently formed Justice and Building Party, served as a member of parliament in Yemen's first legislature after North and South Yemen were unified in 1990. He was a founder of the Republican Party of Yemen in 1991;

Dr. Amal Habib Al Yusuf, a Bahraini civic activist and ophthalmic surgeon focusing on defending the rights of Bahraini patients and healthcare workers, was one of the doctors trapped in the main hospital in Bahrain during the siege by military forces last March;

Mohammad Al Abdallah, a Syrian lawyer, human rights activist and writer, formed the Committee for Families of Political Prisoners after his father and brother were arrested. He now writes for several English and Arabic newspapers and blogs;

Rafat Al Akhalim, a Yemeni youth activist, is a leader in Resonate! Yemen, an organization that promotes youth engagement on policy initiatives;

Dr. Muneera Fakhro is a Sunni candidate for parliament in Bahrain, where she has published three books and authored studies focusing on gender and democracy; and

Dr. Azza Kamel is the director of Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development, an Egyptian women’s rights group, has published numerous studies on gender equality and the impact of violence against women.

Related:

Women Win Big in Tunisia Vote

ntekeei — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:37:46 +0000

Source:

Miller-McCune

Article Link:

Published Date:

11/05/2011

Philip N. Howard, who served as part of the NDI election observation team during Tunisia's recent elections, writes that women are the big winners coming out of the election. According to Howard, women will fill nearly one-third of the 217 constituent assembly seats, which is more than the number of women serving in the U.S. Congress.

Howard also writes that technological investments in elections administration benefitted voter turnout, especially women's turnout.

"Certainly, the country has a way to go. On its own, putting lots of women into political office will not guarantee a good constitution. But the election reveals the high expectations Tunisians have for their new leaders, and that people here want their leaders to represent diverse interests."

Tunisian Election "Extraordinary Achievement," NDI Mission Finds

fgalleto — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:44:52 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/24/2011

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English, French

English

French

Attachment	Size
Read the release (English)	238.01 KB
Read the release (francais)	212.92 KB

Winning the Battle of the Ballot | Oct. 31, 2011

fgalleto — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:46:29 +0000

Khaleej Times | Link to story »

As I flew from Los Angeles to Tunis last week, I read about expatriate Tunisians living in the United States voting freely for the first time in more than 20 years. Some 10,000 expats voted here as part of the Tunisian diaspora. Turnout worldwide was an astonishing 99 per cent of the 54 per cent of the over-18 population that registered. In previous elections, voters were simply given ballots preprinted with the dictator Ben Ali’s name.

On Sunday, I was in Tunisia’s capital with a delegation sponsored by the terrific National Democratic Institute to observe the country’s first elections since Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. Early assessments indicate they were an astounding success: a fair process, huge turnout at more than 900 polling places, and a result widely accepted by Tunisians as well as domestic and international observers.

Link to story »

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The limits of anti-Islamism in Tunisia»

The Real Success in the Tunisian Elections is an Authentic, Democratic Process | Oct. 28, 2011

fgalleto — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:37:06 +0000

Seattle Times | Link to story »

Tunisia, a country that had never experienced democracy, held a successful election last week. This was the first election of the Arab Spring, and the first in an Arab country where the outcome was unknown and the electoral system not predisposed to shaping the outcome. Why did the election work so well?

Link to story »

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