Tunisia

Official name:

Tunisian Republic

Name in local language:

الجمهورية التونسية transliterated in English as al-Jumhuriyatu at-Tunisiya

Form of government:

Republic

Political system:

Semipresidential Democracy

Founding date/ Date of independence: 1956
Date of constitution/last reform: Adopted on January 26th 2014, replaces that of 1959 ammended many times.
Form of state: Unitary, although the new Constitution enables the election of Regional Councils entitled with administrative and financial powers.
Administrative divisions: 24 governorates
Official language(s): Arabic
Other spoken languages: French and Berber (small Southern areas)
Minorities: Religious: Christians and Jews
Dominant actor(s): trade union UGTT, islamist movement (Nahda), business and secular elites.
Elected institutions of government: President, Government and Assembly of People Representatives (Maylis al-nuwab al-sha'ab).
Non-elected institutions of government: regional governors and local authorities.
Party system: two blocks system: one rather uniform created around the Islamist Movement and a quite fragmented secular block, spreading from left wing to centre to right wing parties.

Current authorities

Head of state: Kais Saied, winner in second round of 13th October 2019 presidential polls after defeating Nabil Karoui.
Head of government: Elyes Fakhfakh was designated on January 20th 2020 to form a new coalition government. Habib Jemli replaced former PM Youssef Chahed since November 2019,
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Sabri Bach Tobji (interim)
Minister of Interior: Hichem Fourati (interim)
Head(s) of Legislative Branch: Rachid Ghannouchi, after legislative elections held on October 6th 2019.
Composition of legislative branch: Results of the elections to the first democratic Asssembly (2nd Republic), October 2019
Head of the Judiciary: pending formation of the Constitutional Court.
Schematic representation of the political system: under construction