At stake in this election:

• 217 seats in the Tunisian Constituent Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Fouad MEBAZZA *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Beji Caid EL-SEBSI
• Assembly: Tunisia has a unicameral Tunisian Constituent Assembly with 217 seats.

* President Zine el Abidine BEN ALI was forced out of power on January 14, 2011. MEBAZZA is Acting President.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by a plurality system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
• In the Tunisian Constituent Assembly 217 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system.***

*** There are 27 domestic constituencies and four out-of-country constituencies. Party lists are required to alternate between male and female candidates.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Renaissance Party / النهضة Hizb al-Nahda
  • Leader: Rashid Al-GHANNUSH
• Party: Homeland Party / Hizb al-Watan
  • Leader: Mohamed JEGHAM
• Party: Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) / al-Ḥizb ad-Dīmuqrāṭī at-Taqaddumī الحزب الديمقراطي التقدمي
  • Leader: Najib CHEBBI
• Party: Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties / لتكتل الديمقراطي من أجل العمل والحرياتat-Takattul ad-Dīmuqrāṭī min ajl il-‘Amal wal-Ḥurriyyāt ‎ (Ettakatol)
  • Leader: Mustapha BEN JAFAR
• Party: Congress for the Republic / المؤتمر من أجل الجمهوريةal-Mu’tamar min ajl il-Jumhūriyyah (CPR)
  • Leader: Moncef MARZOUKI

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,673,800 (2011)
• Registered Voters: 8,289,900 (October 2011)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,385,186 (2011)

·         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: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 57 (following the 2011 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: 1,601,070 (est.)