1989 Tunisian general election

General elections were held in Tunisia on 2 April 1989. It was the first time presidential elections had been held since 1974, as Habib Bourguiba had been declared President-for-life the following year. However, his replacement, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was the only candidate to obtain endorsements from 30 political figures, as required by the Constitution. As a result, he was unopposed for a full term.[1]

In the Chamber of Deputies election, the Constitutional Democratic Rally (a renamed Socialist Destourian Party) won 80.6 percent of the vote and all 141 seats. According to official figures, voter turnout was 76.5% in the parliamentary election and 76.1% in the presidential election.[2]

Results

President

Summary of the 2 April 1989 Tunisian presidential election results

Candidates		Parties	Votes	%
	Zine El Abidine Ben Ali	Constitutional Democratic Rally	2,087,028	100
Blank or invalid votes			15,348	-
Total			2,102,351	100.00

Chamber of Deputies

Summary of the 2 April 1989 Tunisian Chamber of Deputies election results

Parties		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Constitutional Democratic Rally	1,633,004	80.6	141	+16
	Movement of Socialist Democrats	76,250	3.8	-	new
	Party of People's Unity	13,596	0.7	-	new
	Unionist Democratic Union	7,912	0.4	-	new
	Leftist Coalition	7,619	0.3	-	new
	Progressive Socialist Party	5,720	0.4	-	new
	Social Party for Progress	5,270	0.3	-	new
	Socialist Progressive Rally	4,054	0.2	-	new
	IRSP	1,224	0.1	-	new
	Independents	277,155	13.7	-	-
Valid votes		2,041,883	98.4	141	+16
Blank or invalid votes		31,836	1.6
Total		2,073,719	100.0
Voter turnout		76.5
Electorate		2,711,925
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

Although the elections were the closest Tunisia had come to a free election at the time, the results were heavily contested.

Different sources offer ostensibly official figures that diverge significantly, most notably in respect to the share of votes received by the Ennahda Movement. Without official recognition as a party, the party fielded independent candidates that received between 10% and 17% of the vote nationally according to different "official" results quoted by different academics.[3][4][5][6][7]

Both the legal opposition and the Ennahda Movement charged the government with electoral fraud, with the Ennahda Movement claiming to have received between 60-80% of votes.[8] According to other analysts, the elections demonstrated the staying power of the state party RCD, which had expanded its membership in the run-up to the election to encompass nearly 40% of the registered electorate [9][10]

References

1. Dickovick, J. Tyler (2008). The World Today Series: Africa 2012. Lanham, Maryland: Stryker-Post Publications. ISBN 978-161048-881-5.
2. Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, pp919-20 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
3. Leveau, Rémy, ‘La Tunisie du Président Ben Ali: Equilibre interne et environnement arabe,’ Maghreb-Machrek No. 124 (1989), p10
4. Burgat, François and William Dowell, The Islamic Movement in North Africa, 2nd Edition (Austin, 1997), p234
5. Murphy, Emma C., Economic and Political Change in Tunisia: From Bourguiba to Ben Ali, (Basingstoke/London, 1999), p180
6. Hermassi, Abdelbaki, ‘The Rise and Fall of the Islamist Movement in Tunisia,’ in Laura Guazzone (ed.), The Islamist Dilemma (Reading, 1995), pp118-119
7. A. Dahmani ‘Tunisie: L’accès aux medias et le code electoral,’ Jeune Afrique (22 January 1990), p33
8. Daoud, Zakya, ‘Chronique Tunisienne,’ Annuaire de l’Afrique du Nord Vol. 28 (1989), p685
9. Daoud, Zakya, Chronique Tunisienne,’ Annuaire de l’Afrique du Nord Vol. 29 (1990), p784
10. Daoud, Zakya, ‘Chronique Tunisienne,’ Annuaire de l’Afrique du Nord Vol. 28 (1989), p684