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| Tunisian National Constituent Assembly | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tunisian National Constituent Assembly |
| Native name | Assemblée nationale constituante tunisienne |
| Foundation | 22 October 2011 |
| Dissolution | 26 October 2014 |
| Predecessors | Constituent Assembly election, 2011 |
| Successors | Assembly of the Representatives of the People |
| Seats | 217 |
| Meeting place | Bardo Palace, Tunis |
Tunisian National Constituent Assembly was the interim unicameral constituent assembly elected after the Tunisian Revolution to draft a new Constitution of Tunisia (2014), oversee the transition from the Ben Ali era and to appoint interim officials including the Prime Minister of Tunisia, the President of Tunisia, and members of the Tunisian judiciary. The Assembly emerged from the national moment following the Jasmine Revolution and the ousting of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and worked alongside actors such as Ennahda Movement, Congress for the Republic, Ettakatol, National Salvation Front (Tunisia), and international bodies including the United Nations, European Union, and Arab League.
The creation followed nationwide mobilization during the Tunisian Revolution and the fall of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali which precipitated elections organized by the Independent High Authority for Elections after the interim government led by Fouad Mebazaa and the Rachid Ghannouchi-linked movements negotiated with secular parties like the Nidaa Tounes founders and civil society groups including the Tunisian General Labour Union; the resulting vote, the Tunisian Constituent Assembly election, 2011, produced a plural assembly charged with drafting a constitution informed by experiences such as the Arab Spring, precedents like the French Constituent Assembly (1789) and international models promoted by the International Crisis Group and International IDEA.
The Assembly consisted of 217 members elected via proportional representation in multi-member districts; major caucuses included Ennahda Movement, Congress for the Republic (CPR), Ettakatol, Popular Petition for Freedom, Justice and Development, and numerous independents and smaller parties such as Al Aridha, Democratic Modernist Pole, Wafa Movement, and Workers' Party (Tunisia). Prominent figures serving as members or leaders included Mustapha Ben Jaafar, Hamadi Jebali, Moncef Marzouki, Rached Ghannouchi (as leader of Ennahda Movement though not a member), Abdelfattah Amor, Meherzia Labidi Maïza, Mansour el-Kikhia and activists from the Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates. The assembly's internal organization featured committees such as the Constitutional Drafting Committee, the Rights and Freedoms Committee, and ad hoc investigative panels mirroring structures used by bodies like the Constitutional Council (France) and drawing advice from legal scholars including those associated with Harvard Law School and International PEN.
Mandated by the Transitional Provisions of 2011 and electoral law overseen by the Independent High Authority for Elections, the Assembly had authority to draft and adopt a new Constitution of Tunisia (2014), to appoint interim governments including Prime Minister of Tunisia and confirm cabinets such as the Jebali Cabinet (2011–2013), to establish commissions like the Truth and Dignity Commission (Tunisia) foundations, and to legislate transitional statutes affecting institutions including the Central Bank of Tunisia, the Tunisian judiciary and the Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry while coordinating with the Ministry of Interior (Tunisia) and security forces during the transition. The Assembly also exercised oversight of executive actions, ratified international agreements such as accords with the European Union and budgetary measures affecting agencies like the Tunisian Social Security Fund.
Working through plenary sessions at the Bardo Palace, Tunis and committee hearings that included testimony from figures like Moncef Marzouki and experts from United Nations Development Programme missions, the Assembly debated and approved draft articles addressing rights found in documents like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and regional frameworks embodied by the Arab Charter on Human Rights. Drafting processes produced iterations informed by comparative examples such as the Constitution of France and the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia critiques; key legislative outputs included transitional justice statutes, electoral law revisions culminating in the Tunisian electoral law of 2014 and provisions for the establishment of institutions such as the Constitutional Court (Tunisia). The final adopted text, the Constitution of Tunisia (2014), reflected compromises among secularists from parties like Nidaa Tounes founders, Islamists from Ennahda Movement, human rights activists from Ligue tunisienne pour la défense des droits de l'homme and international legal advisers.
Debates centered on the role of Sharia and the place of religion in the state, the balance between presidential and parliamentary powers as exemplified by comparisons to the Fifth Republic (France) and the Second Egyptian Republic, and provisions on gender equality championed by activists such as members of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women versus conservative blocs within Ennahda Movement and other parties. Controversies included the assassination of political figures like Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi which provoked national crisis, the Cabinet reshuffles during the Jebali Cabinet (2011–2013) period, street protests by groups affiliated with the Tunisian General Labour Union, and disputes over committee transparency involving NGOs such as Transparency International and media outlets like Mosaique FM and Tunis Hebdo.
After completing the draft and after political accords between secularists and Islamists mediated by entities like the Quartet (Tunisia)—composed of the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Order of Lawyers and the Tunisian Human Rights League—the Assembly oversaw the 2014 electoral process leading to the Tunisian parliamentary election, 2014 and the establishment of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People as successor institution. The formal dissolution occurred following the promulgation of the Constitution of Tunisia (2014) and inauguration of the new legislature, concluding a transition that involved cooperation and contention among parties like Ennahda Movement, Nidaa Tounes, international actors such as the European Union and civil society organizations like ARPAC (Tunisia) and the International Crisis Group.