President Ben Ali seeks fifth term

01/08/2008

The Tunisian president announced his intention this week to seek a fifth term in next year's election. Business and labour organisations welcomed the move while opposition figures warned of a "presidency for life".

Jamel Arfaoui in Tunis contributed to this report – 01/08/08

[Getty Images] Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali announced on Wednesday that he would seek a fifth term. Business interests were pleased while opposition leaders expressed concern about a lack of plurality.

Tunisia's ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) unanimously elected President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as party chairman Wednesday (July 30th) in Tunis, effectively nominating the 71-year old as the RCD candidate in next year's presidential election.

Speaking to the 2,175 delegates gathered for the party congress, Ben Ali said he would accept the calls of Tunisian business and labour organisations which have invited him to run for his fifth term.

"Let me say to you that I am always with you, faithful to my commitment. In response to your appeal, I proudly say: Yes, I will be your candidate for the presidential election of 2009," the 71-year-old said.

Supporters of Ben Ali cite the economic stability and growth the country has achieved under his rule, which began following a bloodless coup on November 7th, 1987.

The educational system has improved, Tunisian women have made important gains in their rights and no viable Islamist movement has taken root in the country, supporters add.

Secretary-General of the pro-presidential Liberal Social Party, Mondher Thabet, renewed his party's support for Ben Ali's candidacy. He expressed appreciation for the RCD's success in leading the country to attain higher rankings, "thanks to the wise policy of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali." Secretary-Generals of the Popular Union Party and the Movement of Social Democrats also issued statements in support of Ben Ali’s candidacy.

The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties (FDTL) and other opposition parties, however, said they considered Ben Ali's move "an attempt to entrench presidency for life".

Pan-Arab news website Elaph quoted opposition newspaper al-Mawkif editor Rachid Khechana as saying that President Ben Ali's decision is a "confirmation of political backwardness," adding that the Constitution as currently written impedes plurality in Tunisia.

"[T]he Constitution...was amended in 2002 to make the number of presidential terms open; something which was considered by the opposition to be a return to the presidency for life which President Bourguiba approved in 1975 when he appointed himself as president for life in Tunisia."

Khechana said that all indications show that Ben Ali would win a fifth term.

"Everyone knows today that there are only four candidates who are allowed to run for the next election against President Ben Ali. However, only 15 days have been specified for the election campaigns of those candidates... How, then, can there by equal opportunities among candidates when one of them owns all the means and the media and political bodies, while the others are completely forgotten, and have no means at all to contact the citizens and present their programs and alternatives?"

Presidential aspirant and Editor-in-Chief of al-Mawkif Ahmed Nejib Chebbi said that Ben Ali's plan to seek a fifth term ignored the desire of the Tunisian people. In a telephone interview with Echorouk on Wednesday, Chebbi called for a constitutional revision to limit presidential terms, noting that Ben Ali promised when he took office in 1987 that he would not seek a life presidency.

A recently adopted temporary amendment to the election law bars Chebbi from running in the 2009 presidential election.

In a statement to Reuters, political analyst Salheddine Jourchi said, "Ben Ali will run in the election and will win because there is no other candidate who can change the balance of power."

"But the question is: will [Ben Ali's] announcement be an outlet to clean the political atmosphere by releasing political prisoners, improving freedom, and reviewing the pending files, such as the problem of the human rights league?"

During his announcement, the president said there was a higher political will to protect human rights and reject "all forms of exaggeration, extremism and intolerance".

Ben Ali won the 2004 presidential election with 94.4% of the vote.