Tunisia: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Tunisia conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis note: the country name derives from the capital city of Tunis |
|---|---|
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Tunis
Tunis
geographic coordinates: 36 48 N, 10 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | 24 governorates (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), L'Ariana (Aryanah), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bouzid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan) |
| Independence | 20 March 1956 (from France) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 20 March (1956); Revolution and Youth Day, 14 January (2011) |
| Constitution | several previous; latest approved by Constituent Assembly 26 January 2014, signed by president on 27 January 2014 (2016) |
| Legal system | mixed legal system of civil law, based on the French civil code, and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Tunisia dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal except for active government security forces (including the police and the military), people with mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended sentence of more than six months |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Beji CAID ESSEBSI (since 31 December 2014) head of government: Prime Minister Youssef CHAHED (since 27 August 2016) cabinet: selected by the prime minister and approved by the Constituent Assembly elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 23 November and 21 December 2014 (next to be held in 2019); following legislative elections, the prime minister is selected by the majority party or majority coalition and appointed by the president election results: Beji CAID ESSEBSI elected president; percent of vote in runoff - Beji CAID ESSEBSI (Tunisia's Call) 55.7%, Moncef MARZOUKI (CPR) 44.3% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Chamber of the People's Deputies (217 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) elections: initial election held on 26 October 2014 (next to be held in 2019) election results: percent of vote by party - Tunisia's Call 39.6%, al-Nahda 31.8%, UPL 7.4%, Popular Front 6.9%, Afek Tounes 3.7%, CPR 1.8%, other 8.8%; seats by party - Tunisia's Call 86, al-Nahda 69, UPL 16, Popular Front 15, Afek Tounes 8, CPR 4, other 17, independent 2 |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation (organized into 1 civil and 3 criminal chambers); Constitutional Court (consists of 12 members) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a body of elected and appointed judges and specialized staff, after consultation with the prime minister; judge tenure based on terms of appointment; Constitutional Court members appointed 3 each by the president of the republic, the Chamber of the People's Deputies, and the SJC; members serve 9-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; administrative courts; Court of Audit; Housing Court; courts of first instance; lower district courts; military courts note: the new Tunisian constitution of January 2014 called for the creation of a constitutional court by the end of 2015; the court will consist of 12 members - 4 each appointed by the president, Supreme Judicial Council or SJC (an independent 4-part body consisting mainly of elected judges and the remainder legal specialists), and the Chamber of the People's Deputies (parliament); members will serve 9-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years; in late 2015, the International Commission of Jurists called on Tunisia's parliament to revise the draft on the constitutional court to ensure compliance with international standards |
| Political parties and leaders | Afek Tounes (Yassine BRAHIM) Congress for the Republic or CPR (Imed DAIMI) Current of Love (Mohamed HAMDI) (formerly the Popular Petition party) Democratic Alliance Party (Mohamed HAMDI) Democratic Current (Mohamed ABBOU) Democratic Patriots' Unified Party Ennahda Movement (The Renaissance) (Rachid GHANNOUCHI) Free Patriotic Union or UPL (Union patriotique libre) (Slim RIAHI) Green Tunisia Party (Abdelkader ZITOUNI) Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS (Ahmed KHASKHOUSSI) National Destourian Initiative or El Moubadra (Kamel MORJANE) Party of the Democratic Arab Vanguard People's Movement (Zouheir MAGHZAOUI) Popular Front (a coalition of 9 parties including Democractic Patriots' Unified Party, Workers' Party, Green Tunisia, Tunisian Ba'ath Movement, and Party of the Democractic Arab Vanguard) Popular Petition (Aridha Chaabia) (Hachemi HAMDI) Republican Party (Maya JRIBI) The Initiative (Kamel MORJANE) (formerly the Constitutional Democratic Rally or RCD) Tunisian Ba'ath Movement (Omar Othman BEKHADJ, secretary general) Tunisia's Call (Nidaa Tounes) (Mohamed ENNACEUR) Workers' Party (Hamma HAMMAMI) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | 18 October Group (collective leadership) Tunisian League for Human Rights or LTDH (Mokhtar TRIFI) Tunisian General Labor Union or UGTT (Hassine ABASSI) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), CAEU, CD, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Faycal GOUIA (since 18 May 2015) chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: (1) (202) 862-1850 FAX: (1) (202) 862-1858 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel H. RUBINSTEIN (Since 22 October 2015) embassy: Zone Nord-Est des Berges du Lac Nord de Tunis 1053 mailing address: Zone Nord-Est des Berges du Lac Nord de Tunis 1053 telephone: (216) 71 107-000 FAX: (216) 71 963-263 |
| Flag description | red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; resembles the Ottoman flag (red banner with white crescent and star) and recalls Tunisia's history as part of the Ottoman Empire; red represents the blood shed by martyrs in the struggle against oppression, white stands for peace; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam note: the flag is based on that of Turkey, itself a successor state to the Ottoman Empire |
| National symbol(s) | encircled red star and crescent; national colors: red, white |
| National anthem | name: "Humat Al Hima" (Defenders of the Homeland) lyrics/music: Mustafa Sadik AL-RAFII and Aboul-Qacem ECHEBBI/Mohamad Abdel WAHAB note: adopted 1957, replaced 1958, restored 1987; Mohamad Abdel WAHAB also composed the music for the anthem of the United Arab Emirates |