onstitution:
1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988

Legal system:
based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial
review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session

Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November
1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed GHANNOUCHI (since 17
November 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009);
prime minister appointed by the president
election results: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI reelected for a
fourth term; percent of vote - Zine El Abidine BEN ALI 94.5%,
Mohamed BOUCHIHA 3.8%, Mohamed Ali HALOUANI 1%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Majlis al-Nuwaab (189 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
RCD 152, MDS 14, PUP 11, UDU 7, Al-Tajdid 3, PSL 2

Judicial branch:
Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation

Political parties and leaders:
Al-Tajdid Movement [Ali HALOUANI]; Constitutional Democratic Rally
Party (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique) or RCD [President
Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (official ruling party)]; Liberal Social
Party or PSL [Mounir BEJI]; Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS
[Ismail BOULAHYA]; Popular Unity Party or PUP [Mohamed BOUCHIHA];
Progressive Democratic Party [Nejib CHEBBI]; Unionist Democratic
Union or UDU [Abderrahmane TLILI]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is
outlawed

International organization participation:
ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), FAO, G-77,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM,
OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d' Affaires Tarek
Azouz
FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858
telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Ave