At stake in this election:    

• 217 seats in Tunisia’s Assembly of the Representatives of the People (Majlis Nuwaab a-shaab)

Description of current government structure:

• Chief of State: President Moncef MARZOUKI (since 12 December 2011)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mehdi JOMAA (since 29 January 2014)
• Assembly: Tunisia has a unicameral National Constituent Assembly (al-Majlis al-Waṭanī at-Ta'sīsī) with 217 seats that will be substituted by the Assembly of the Representatives of the People following the 26 October 2014 parliamentary elections.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is directly elected by a plurality system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister, after legislative elections, is usually the leader of the majority party (or coalition) and is asked to form a government by the president.
• In the Tunisian Constituent Assembly 217 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system with the largest remainder method.*

* There are 27 domestic constituencies and six out-of-country constituencies. The electoral law requires gender parity on the lists, and all candidates lists presented must alternatively rank women and men. The law also requires youth representation by stipulating that candidate lists in any constituency which has at least four seats must include a male and female candidate no older than 35 among the first four candidates.

Election Note:

On Sunday 26 October 2014, Tunisia will hold an election for Assembly of the Representatives of the People (Majlis Nuwaab a-shaab). It will be the second election since the Jasmine Revolution and the subsequent fall of former President Zine El Abidine BEN-ALI in January 2011. The first election for the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) was held on 23 October 2011. Due to political and economic instability, the government handed power over to technocrats, while a National Dialogue conference drafted a new all-inclusive constitution. The new constitution was ratified in January 2014.[i] Notably, The body in charge of managing elections it the Independent High Authority for Elections or Instance Superieure Indepedante pour les Election (ISIE) that is comprised of nine commissioners, three of whom are women.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party:  Renaissance Party (Ennahda Movement) / Hizb al-Nahda
  • Leader: Rashid AL-GHANNUSHI
  • Seats won in last election: 89
• Party: Call for Tunisia (Nidaa Tounes) / Nidā’ Tūnis)
  • Leader: Beji Caid ESSEBSI
  • Seats won in last election: 6
• Party: Congress for the Republic (CPR) / al-Mu’tamar min ajl il-Jumhūriyyah
  • Leader: Imed DAIMI
  • Seats won in last election: 29
• Party: Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties / at-Takattul ad-Dīmuqrāṭī min ajl il-‘Amal wal-Ḥurriyyāt
  • Leader: Mustapha Ben JAFAR
  • Seats won in last election: 20
• Party: Republican Party / Al-Ḥizb Al-Jumhūrī  *
  • Leader: Maya JRIBI
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Popular Front / Front Populaire **
  • Leader: Hamma HAMMAMI (spokesperson)
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Current of Love / Tayar al-Mahaba
  • Leader: Mohamed Hechmi HAMDI
  • Seats won in last election: 27
• Party: The Initiative / Al Moubadara
  • Leader: Kamel MORJANE
  • Seats won in last election: 4

* The party was founded in April 2012, after it merged with the Progressive Democratic Party. The party won 16 seats in the 2011 election.

** The Popular Front is a coalition of parties and was formed in October 2012. They have 6 seats in the National Constituent Assembly.

Last election:

• The last election to the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) in Tunisia was held on 23 October 2011.[ii] Turnout was 49 percent and 4,308,888 of 8,289,900 people casted ballots.[iii] The Renaissance Party (Ennahda Movement) won 89 seats, while the Congress for the Republic 29 seats, and the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties won 20 seats.[iv] Results can be found here.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,937,521 (July 2014 est)[v]
• Registered Voters: 5,285,136 (Oct 2014)[vi]

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,559,991 (2014)

·         Is Tunisia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (24 July 1980)

·         Has Tunisia ratified CEDAW: Yes (20 September 1985)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 68 (following the 2014 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 96 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Tunisia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Tunisia ratified CRPD: Yes (2 April 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 1,640,628 (est.)