By the end of 2010, young cyber-activists were denouncing the Tunisian dictatorship on various social networks. Before that, the air was heavy in Tunisia. We had to think twice before we spoke, as censorship and propaganda ran the country. I remember we all used “Hotspot Shield,” a software application that allowed us to access YouTube, which was censored by our authoritarian government.
A YouTube video showing the self-immolation of an oppressed street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi served as the trigger for the uprising. At the time, I was with my family in the southern part of the country. We had to drive back to the capital, Tunis, in the north and were scared of the angry demonstrations following Bouazizi’s death in Sidi Bouzid, a small town near our itinerary.
With the support of the army, there were thousands of Tunisians occupying the streets, which led to the resignation of Tunisia’s dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, on Jan. 14, 2011 after 23 years in office.
From then on, Tunisia had to reconstruct itself in all areas. While the words freedom, democracy and equality were all we could hear during the protests, Islamist political party Ennahda won the first Constituent Assembly elections held on Oct. 23, 2011 with 89 out of 217 seats. Tunisian politician and businessman Hachmi Hamdi said, “I am very disappointed, not for myself, but for Tunisian democracy.” This election was a failure for those espousing democratic values.
We all felt that our usually open-minded country had changed. More and more, there was violence in the streets. As a 16-year-old teenager, it became dangerous for me to be alone outside, even during the day, and it was frowned upon to wear shorts or a skirt.
Finally, after a long four-year struggle against Islamism in Tunisia—which couldn’t be imposed at the risk of provoking discontent among the large secularist part of the population—the 2014 elections were a success for the well-being of democracy as we know it.
The Tunisian people voted in parliamentary elections on Oct. 26 within the country, while those living outside its borders were given the opportunity to cast their ballots from Oct. 24 to 26. The year 2012 saw the creation of a new secular party, Nidaa Tounes, or “Call for Tunisia.” It attracted different voters believing in democratic values and came first in the polls with 38 per cent of votes. Yet, Ennahda was not far behind with 28 per cent support.
A month later, the first round of the presidential elections were held, pitting Béji Caïd Essebsi, the former prime minister and leader of Nidaa Tounes, against Moncef El Marzouki, the head of state elected by the members of the Constituent Assembly and founder of the socialist party Congress for the Republic. Essebsi took the presidency with 56 per cent in the second round of voting.
After his victory, Essebsi, a former executive in Ben Ali’s regime, sought to decrease tension with those who feared that a return to an authoritarian regime was possible. “Hegemony’s an illusion, we won’t go back to that,” said Essebsi.
Despite Essebsi’s assertions, Tunisian people are still fragile and frightened of losing their freedom again, which explains their suspicions and uncertainties toward every new government policy.
These elections are the right steps for Tunisia. The Tunis Times wrote that they have “strengthened democracy in the land of [the] Arab Spring,” but it is not an end in itself. Indeed, specialists are optimistic about growth prospects in Tunisia’s tourism industry, which represented 7 per cent of the country’s GDP before the revolution but saw a big decrease in revenue as of 2011. Nevertheless, as mentioned in The Times on May 24, 2014, the unemployment crisis is critical, especially for youth and women.
In my experience growing up in a country where we couldn’t speak about the presidential family without whispering, where fear manipulated our minds and muzzled media and our opinions, I now strongly believe that Tunisian policy is on the right track for democracy. After initiating the Arab Spring, we hope the rest of the Arab World will follow our example in spreading these values.
Even so, there is a long road ahead for Tunisia.
The fact that an important amount of electors, including me, weren’t able to vote during the elections, supposedly because our names were not found on the electoral lists, proves that this democracy has its limitations. And as religion remains prominent in our policy, it will be even tougher to change the mentalities of future generations.