Tunisian Election Season Kicks Off - Personal Integrity and Credibility of Candidates Likely More Important than Ideology

Tunis, summer 2011

The elections campaign is now in full flow on the internet, on Facebook, in the newspapers. Candidates are already on the road giving speeches and holding public meetings.

There are 105 parties registered and hundreds of independent lists, but I think personal trust, credibility and integrity will play more of a role in these elections than political ideology.

Everyone wants to see the people they are going to vote for. This is a small country and on a local level, people will be familiar with the people on the lists in their voting districts.

So far, most people have the same message – creating jobs, reforming the justice system and the police, boosting the economy in poor regions, fighting corruption and protecting the environment.

There are candidates who have already made all kinds of unrealistic promises, but people in Tunisia are not stupid. No-one believes that tomorrow everything will be solved. Even the few illiterate people here are street smart.

More than half the public are still undecided – they just don’t know who they will vote for and are waiting to see the campaign and find out more about the abilities of the various candidates. It is going to be less about parties and more about personalities.

I think it is wonderful, and the campaign season is going amazingly well. Wherever you go people are talking politics. Taxi drivers, students, activists, and business people – everybody is volunteering or discussing or involved in some kind of political activity.

All the big parties have Facebook pages and are tweeting like crazy, uploading photographs. I could spend the whole day following the various campaigns; I have to make an effort to limit myself to 45 minutes daily.

It’s incredible how mature people are and how fast they are learning what it will mean to run a country democratically and the importance that free discussion plays in that process.

It is good at this point to have so many parties. This amount of groups will more accurately reflect people’s views and will give a greater sense of legitimacy to the results. Those who are elected will at first be tasked with writing a new constitution, but will still function as a de facto parliament.

All the secular, moderate, post-revolutionary political parties are facing a particularly big challenge to convince the public to vote for something new. I have strong doubts that all the old parties will be able to solve Tunisia’s problems, and that includes the Muslim Brotherhood party, Ennahda.

Some are still living in the 1970s and 1980s, with many in the movement still privately dreaming of setting up an Islamic republic. There are some who talk in double-speak; they refer to personal freedom, and pledge that liberal democracy is untouchable, but in reality they do not believe in the separation of religion and state and their positions remain ambiguous. Ennadha even, here and there, have women connected to the party who are not veiled, but this doesn’t mean anything. It is cheap PR.

However, they currently seem the strongest party and will probably be part of any new government, so people will see for themselves what their true face is. And I hope Ennadha will be involved in the government. This will not only test their responsibility and ability but will be healthy for Tunisia`s young democracy. It won’t be good if only secular parties are represented, and won’t be democratic if such a popular party is not integrated in a legitimate government.

Then again, it is impossible to gauge their actual strength. There have been various opinion polls but none of them have been serious or meaningful.

There are fears that some elements of the former regime could create security problems here and there during the election season, but it won’t be possible for them to affect an unstoppable process. They can’t stop history. I am optimistic; I think turn-out will be extremely high. It won’t be easy, but in the end the people will win.

* Article first published with International War and peace Reporting, http://iwpr.net/report-news/tunisian-election-season-kicks

* More info about elections in Tunisia: http://www.atide.org/
* You are Tunisian and you are not sure who to vote for? Go to www.ikhtiartounes.org
* Watch 2 videos by Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates (ATFD) to motivate women to vote on October 23 - an dnot let men steal their votes/voices:
_ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lhwvhjwpJK4
_ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xfv6paL7Gvk


Fouad Hamdan, a former DPA correspondent in Cairo and the Gulf, set up Greenpeace Lebanon in 1994-1999. He was the founding executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund in Beirut in 2008-10. Since January 2011 he has been working on democracy-building projects in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

The sound of Arab democracy in Tunisia

Download 6 songs for free from Tunisian women.
http://www.latunisievote.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&cid=58&id=291&Itemid&lang=fr

Project by my friends from La Tunisie Vote 2011 and www.mict-international.org


Check also this wonderful music clip, ENTI ESSOUT ("You are the Voice"), to motivate Tunisians to vote for the Constitutional Assembly on October 23, 2011 (UNDP project):

Tunisian Progress to Democracy Unstoppable - Despite many obstacles, prospects for reforms still look good.

Article en Français ICI


Wherever you are in Tunis today you experience heated debates: who will rule the country after free elections for a constitutional assembly on October 23? Will the Islamic Ennahda party turn Tunisia into an Iranian-style state? Why the secular parties are not so well organised? Who to vote for among the 100 and more new parties?


Sit in a cafe in the old medina of Tunis, in the middle-class Nasr area or in the posh Marsa suburb - almost everyone is arguing passionately about the current situation and how a Tunisian democracy should look.


The explosion of newly-found freedoms since President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14 , after a three-week uprising, is something no one can ever take away from Tunisians. If there is any consensus among the people today it is that the hard-won freedom of expression is untouchable.

"Tunis is so beautiful without Ben Ali Baba and the 40 thieves!"  Tunis, summer 2011

The country's hot topics are many: the nature of the future system - should power be in hands of the president or prime minister - the relationship between state and religion, women's rights, economic policies, reforming the judiciary and security apparatus and corruption. 

On January 14 many believed that from now on all would be just fine. But Tunisians quickly realised that the government of premier Mohammed Ghannouchi, who took over from Ben Ali, wanted to perpetuate the hated regime. He was toppled after waves of protests and replaced on February 27 by Beji Caid el-Sebsi, a former minister under the authoritarian but revered late president Habib Bourguiba. El-Sebsi's transitional government is currently navigating the country through troubled waters until the planned elections.

In parallel, a "Higher Commission for the Achievement of the Objectives of the Revolution and the Democratic Transition", a sort of political reform commission chaired by law professor Yadh Ben Achour, was set up. It includes judges, civil society members and representatives of the major parties that survived years of oppression both in Tunis and in exile. The high commission set up an electoral committee, headed by veteran human rights activist Kamel Jendoubi, which will organise and monitor the planned elections.

In principle all is on track in Tunisia. One may decide to be pessimistic and claim that Islamism is on the rise, leading to an erosion of personal rights and women's rights, that the economy has been in flux since December 2010 and that youth unemployment and poverty in rural areas are still a source of even more instability. A worrying fact is also that members of Ben Ali's dissolved party, the Constitutional Democratic rally, RCD, are clinging to key positions in the security apparatus and the judiciary.

Since Ben Ali's downfall, the country has been rocked by regular demonstrations. Members of civil society see former RCD members behind outbreaks of violence. In one incident, seven people were killed in June in the mining town of Metlaoui, with shops looted and set on fire after rumours circulated that only certain tribes would be offered jobs at the nearby Gafsa phosphate complex.

In early August, thousands protested in Tunis and provincial cities over what they saw as the government`s failure to break with the legacy of Ben Ali. The protests were sparked by the release of former justice minister Bechir Tekkari from prison and the news that Saida Agrebi, a friend of Ben Ali's wife Leila Trabelsi, had fled to Paris.

El-Sebsi promised that his transitional government would take a tougher line on allies of the ousted president. But it seems doubtful that he can do so as his cabinet does not have the legitimacy to introduce serious reforms. Holding all top officials and businessmen accountable for past crimes will not be possible during this transition period. To calm tempers, in June a Tunis court sentenced Ben Ali to 35 years in jail. The former dictator was tried in absentia because Saudi Arabia refuses to extradite him.

"I am a Moslem, I am Tunisian, I am against Ennahda. We do not accept a 

second RCD (party of toppled president Ben Alil)". Protest in Tunis, May 2011

Meanwhile, Ennahda's nebulous policies fuel mistrust, regular protests provoke further instability and Ben Ali loyalists regularly attempt to disrupt the democratic process. Optimism is nonetheless possible, and there is wisdom in the road map Tunisians have developed to move towards a truly open and democratic system. The higher commission and el-Sebsi are widely accepted, while army generals with no political ambitions are guaranteeing overall security and keeping a close eye on the hated police and intelligence apparatus.

In the meantime, Ennahda lost many women's votes when it recently suggested that the best way to solve the problem of youth unemployment would be to pay about 280 US dollars per month for every woman who left her job to stay at home. This was not only a public relations disaster but also economic nonsense.

Afterwards, many religious women, although undecided about whom they would vote for, were clear for whom they would not be voting. Ennahda, "because they have a double-language and because they are against women", I was told.

Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi will marginalise the party if he does not truly democratise. He often says the party wants to be modern and democratic like Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, but a clear position is missing on universal human rights and on the issue of giving Tunisian women equal rights in heritage. Ennahda means "awakening". Time has come to live up to this name.

Tunisia is also facing other challenges: opposition parties and civil society groups developed survival skills when opposing Ben Ali`s regime at home and in exile, but fighting for ideas in a free society is another art. They are now learning the hard way how to develop political programs and advocacy campaigns and how to win votes and members.

Graffiti in the medina of Tunis, summer 2011

Tunisians are developing at high-speed a democratic culture that will enable them to face four major challenges after elections on October 23 - to create a coalition of several parties to form Tunisia`s first truly legitimate government, to reform the police and judiciary, tackle regional economic imbalances and create jobs for youth as well as starting a process of transitional justice and prosecuting top human rights abusers and corrupt individuals. In parallel, the elected assembly will formulate a new constitution.

The revolution in Tunisia did not end when Ben Ali fled; it has been continuing slowly since then and will take a boost after October 23. The Tunisian people, who abhor violence and extremism, have been and will remain vigilant against a possible counter-revolution. Former RCD cadres, ideological Baathists and fundamentalist Salafists have no chance to win massive fellowship.

I believe Tunisia will develop into an exemplary Arab democracy, despite a bumpy road ahead. "We have many tough years ahead," said Sana Ben Achour, a leading women rights activist. "But have no doubt that Tunisia will overcome all difficulties. And if at some point men do not have the courage to fight anymore Tunisian women will continue fighting because they never give up".

I believe her.

Fouad Hamdan, a former DPA correspondent in Cairo and the Gulf, was the founding executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund in Beirut in 2008-2010. He set up Greenpeace in Lebanon from 1994-1999. Since January 2011 he has been carrying out democracy-building projects in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. The article was also published in the IWPR site on the Arab Spring.

Tunisia in May 2011 - Revolution Reloaded?

Tunis, 7th May 2011 - I saw in the Tunisian capital how police attacked with teargas and batons protesters demanding the start of a new revolution "Asha3eb yurid thawra min jadid!" (The people want a new revolution). 

Bourguiba Avenue, 6 May 2011

Tension has been rising in Tunisia since a former minister warned of a possible coup by loyalists of the ousted regime of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali if Islamists from the Ennahda party win elections for a Constitutional Council scheduled on July 24.


Scenes of violence took place all over the country and in the city center in and around Habib Bourguiba Avenue where the infamous Interior Ministry is located. Tear gas was fired in all directions, policemen in uniforms or in civilian and hiding their faces behind masks attacked bystanders and journalists, took away their mobiles and cameras and smashed them. I saw one of them attacking a young girl, throwing her mobile phone on the asphalt and verbally abusing her.

No way I could use my camera or mobile as I was between police and not in mid of demonstration. I would have been attacked at once. Policemen in civilian were everywhere. A German journalist from NDR TV, two meters behind me, was taken away by a security guy and interrogated for a while before being allowed to walk away.


The policemen used brutal force against peaceful protesters because they were heading to the interior ministry from streets leading to Habib Bourguiba Avenue. This grey and ugly building from the 1970s is surrounded by barbed wire and protected by army troops. Imagine, the army protecting policemen from the people...


In the nearby Avenue de Paris, glass, waste and burned tires everywhere. Police vans race trough it, jump out, chase peaceful demonstrators to beat them up and curse. They leave the road quickly. I can see that all bystanders in the area just hate them. The policemen know it and feel unsafe. They just behave like an occupying force...

Avenue de Paris, 7 May 2011

   
Demonstrators I spoke to said they mistrust the transitional government and officials in the system. They say a "counter-revolution" is being carried out by the cronies of the former dictator. Ahmed Dermech, a young student, told me, "We will not give away our newly won freedom. We will go to the streets until our revolution is 100% won". More demos are planned tomorrow.



One funny interesting happened. I was speaking with a Tunisian TV team on Habib Bourguiba Avenue on May 7 when a high-ranking police officer approached us and said: "I like to apologize to the media for the attacks committed by policemen yesterday. Please understand that they are not used of being filmed. It was always forbidden to film them, and now they are afraid that their faces and names will be on Facebook. Please put on your jackets in big letters 'Press' and I assure you that nothing will happen to you."


The Tunisian journalists asked if would repeat it all in front of the camera, he said he was not allowed to do so. He was very credible, but it remains to be seen if a change of behavior will really take place.

Anyhow, one thing is crystal clear: Tunisians still have a long and arduous road until they set up a real democracy. 23 years of dictatorship cannot be undone in a blink. Changing the mentality of tens of thousands that profited directly from oppression and corruption will probably take a generation or two.


But I have no doubt that Tunisians will succeed. 63 parties have already been registered since the dictatorship collapsed last January 14; hundreds of NGOs and media outlets  have applied for a permit. In Tunis, I am breathing freedom despite all the trouble. This no one can take away from Tunisians anymore. Everyone I spoke to shouted it!

Bourguiba Avenue, ugly building on left is the interior ministry, 7 May 2011

                                   

Bourguiba Avenue, Africa hotel left. 7 May 2011

Meanwhile, I am blogging from the Carlton Hotel near the interior ministry. I cannot venture outside anymore because of the curfew from 9pm (Saturday 7 May) till 5am (Sunday 8 May). The only bar still open was in the nearby Africa Hotel. I enjoyed there the great local beer, Celtia, and walked trough ghost town Tunis till about 10pm when policemen shouted from far away. OK, OK, I walked in the hotel and started writing these lines and uploading the photos I took.


Background from Reuters: Former interior minister Farhat Rajhi said last Thursday that there could be a "coup" by loyalists of former dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali if Islamists from the Ennahda party won the July 24 elections.



Until August 2011 I will head in Tunis a team that will hold interviews and carry out research about each party fighting for seats for the Constitutional Council that is to be elected on July 24. Data about political positions on key issues will be on a website in French and Arabic to help Tunisians chose who to vote for. The project is carried out by the German NGO Media in Cooperation and Transition. It did something similar in Sudan in 2010.


Fouad Hamdan is an independent Arab pro-democracy activist who established and headed Greenpeace Lebanon in 1994-1999 and was the founding executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund in 2008-2010. Since then he advising on a voluntary basis Arab NGOs and activists, and he is working as a consultant for  Media in Cooperation and Transition and the Global Campaign for Climate Action.