| Constitutional Democratic Rally التجمع الدستوري الديمقراطي |
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|---|---|
| French name | Rassemblement constitutionnel démocratique |
| First Leader | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali |
| Last Leader | Mohamed Ghannouchi |
| Founded | February 27, 1988 |
| Dissolved | March 9, 2011 |
| Preceded by | Socialist Destourian Party a |
| Headquarters | Tunis, Tunisia |
| Ideology | Secularism Social Democracy Neoliberalism[1][2](contemporary) |
| International affiliation | Socialist International (expelled) |
| Official colors | Red |
| Website | |
| www.rcd.tn | |
| Politics of Tunisia Political parties Elections ^ a. The RCD is the successor of the following parties : Destour (1920), Neo-Destour (1934) and Socialist Destourian Party (1964). |
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The Constitutional Democratic Rally (Arabic: التجمع الدستوري الديمقراطي at-Tajammu‘ ad-Dustūrī ad-Dīmuqrāṭī, French: Rassemblement Constitutionel Démocratique), also referred to by its French acronym RCD, formerly called Neo Destour then Socialist Destourian Party, was the governing party in Tunisia. The party was suspended by the minister of interior on February 6th awaiting a decision on its dissolution by judicial authorities.[3][4] The party held strong majorities in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Councillors, though elections in Tunisia were subject to widespread claims of fraud. The 2009 legislative elections resulted in the RCD winning 161 of the 214 seats with the remaining 53 seats going to minority parties.[5] In 2004, the party won 152 of 189 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The remaining 37 seats were occupied by minority parties.[6]
These elections were widely regarded as rigged and they contributed to the discontent shown in the Tunisian Revolution which pressured President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali into relinquishing authority and fleeing Tunisia.[7] In response to the RCD government clampdown on protests, the Socialist International ceased the membership of the RCD.[8] In order to placate protesters and designated coalition participants, the incumbent president and prime minister resigned from their memberships in the RCD on January 18[9] and all remaining RCD-aligned ministers resigned their party memberships on the 20th,[10] the effect of which left the RCD with only a parliamentary majority. On January 27, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi carried out a major reshuffle, removing all former RCD members other than himself from the government. On March 9, the party was finally dissolved by the Tunisian courts.[11]
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In 1920, Tunisian Nationalists formed the Destour (Constitutional) Party in opposition to French rule. As the party developed, a schism occurred within the party leading to the founding of the Neo Destour Party in 1934 by Habib Bourguiba. Under his leadership, the Neo Destour Party successfully garnered independence from France in 1956. Eight years later, in 1964, the Neo Destour Party became the Destourian Socialist Party (PSD). From 1963-1981, the PSD was the only legal political party in Tunisia.[12]
In 1981, the PSD faced opposition from Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Islamic Tendency Movement, the Tunisian Communist Party, the Movement for Popular Unity and student groups weakening its influence. On November 7, 1987, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the Prime Minister at the time, became president after Bourguiba was declared medically unfit for office.[13] The following year, President Ben Ali instituted economic reforms increasing economic privatization and renamed the party the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD).[14]
On 6 February 2011, the Ministry of Interior banned all meetings and activities of the party, and requested the courts to dissolve it. This happened on 9 March, when a court in Tunis announced the dissolution of the former ruling party and the liquidation of its assets and funds, although the party said it would appeal the decision.[15]
| Election date | Party candidate | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 2,087,028 | 100% |
| 1994 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 2,987,375 | 100% |
| 1999 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 3,269,067 | 99.4% |
| 2004 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 4,204,292 | 94.4% |
| 2009 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 4,238,711 | 89.6% |
| Election date | Party leader | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes | Number of deputies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 1,633,004 | 80.6% | 141 |
| 1994 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 2,768,667 | 97.7% | 144 |
| 1999 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | Unknown | Unknown | 148 |
| 2004 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 3,678,645 | 87.5% | 152 |
| 2009 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | 3,754,559 | 84.5% | 161 |
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