The Rassemblement socialiste progressiste was renamed the Parti démocratique progressiste (PDP) during its June 2001 congress (Tunisia Online n.d.). The party was founded on 13 December 1983 "by a number of Marxists groups" and, according to the Political Handbook of the World 2000-2002, changed its name in July 2001 "to broaden its ideological basis" (Jan. 2004).

Main Leaders and Members

The Secretary General of the PDP is Ahmed Néjib Chebbi (Réveil tunisien 15 Sept. 2004a; Tunisia Online n.d.; Nouvel Observateur 25 Oct. 2004), a 60-year-old lawyer (Réveil tunisien 15 Sept. 2004a).

An Associated Press (AP) article identifies Rachid Kéchana as a [translation] "member of the political bureau" of the party (22 Oct. 2004). In an interview with the on-line newspaper Réveil tunisien, Ahmed Chebbi identifies Maya Jribi as a member of the party's leadership, without providing any further details (15 Sept. 2004a).

Ahmed Chebbi also stated in the interview that the PDP has [translation] "a few hundred" members, most of them from the liberal professions (15 Sept. 2004).

Status of the Parti démocratique progressiste

The PDP is a legal opposition party (Nouvel Observateur 25 Oct. 2004; AFP 22 Oct. 2004). It was officially recognized in 1988 (Political Handbook of the World 2000- 2002 Jan. 2004; Tunisia Online n.d.). The PDP later took part in legislative elections held in April 1989, March 1994 and October 1999 (Tunisia Online n.d.).

The PDP currently has no elected representative in the Tunisian Parliament (Elections Around the World 27 Oct. 2004) and had none before the presidential and legislative elections of 24 October 2004 (AFP 22 Oct. 2004).

The Tunisian electoral law excluded the PDP Secretary General from the presidential election since his party had no representative in parliament (AFP 23 Sept. 2004). The PDP claims that [translation] "this law was specifically designed to exclude any independent candidate" (ibid.). AFP reports that after campaigning unsuccessfully to have his candidature recognized, Ahmed Chebbi called for a boycott of the presidential election (AFP 21 Oct. 2004).

In addition, the PDP, which had candidates running in 16 out of 26 ridings, withdrew from the 24 October 2004 legislative elections three days before they took place (AP 22 Oct. 2004; AFP 22 Oct. 2004). Ahmed Chebbi claimed his party was silenced by the authorities and criticized the disqualification of five of the 21 candidates it had originally intended to run (ibid.). Tunisian authorities declared the withdrawal a [translation] "media stunt" (AP 22 Oct. 2004).

According to Ahmed Chebbi, the PDP is the only legal party not to receive public financing and raises fund through the sales of its newspaper (Réveil tunisien 15 Sept. 2004a). However, Country Reports 2003 states that the PDP weekly newspaper Al Mawqif is "government subsidized"; it should be noted that Country Reports 2003 makes this statement with reference to an incident that took place in 2001 (25 Feb. 2004).

Platform

In his interview with Réveil tunisien, Ahmed Chebbi states that his party is politically and ideologically diverse and that it includes both liberals and progressive islamists, all united by the common project of an alternative government (15 Sept. 2004a). He added that one of their main goals during the October 2004 campaign was to show that Tunisia's pluralism was in reality a sham (ibid.).

Agence France Presse (AFP) mentions that the PDP had opposed a constitutional amendment granting president Ben Ali the right to run for a fourth time, in the latest presidential elections (22 Oct. 2004).

Summarizing the PDP platform, Ahmed Chebbi states that its political program is comprised of:

[translation]

political reforms [...] including a general amnesty (for prisoners of conscience and exiled Tunisians), [...] neutrality of the administration, a free press, a constitution that guarantees individual freedoms, the separation of powers and the independence of the justice system, and laws ensuring freedom of association and expression;

economic and social reforms based on transparency and good governance in order to energize the employment sector, and a fair distribution of wealth (Réveil tunisien 15 Sept. 2004a).

A detailed description of the platform is available on the Internet (Réveil tunisien 15 Sept. 2004b).

Treatment of Members by the Current Government

Information on the treatment of members of the PDP by the current government was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, the following information might be useful.

The PDP withdrew from the legislative elections claiming that the party was the victim of [translation] "'an accumulation of violations [of its rights] and pressure tactics during the campaign'" (AP 22 Oct. 2004; AFP 22 Oct. 2004). According to Le Nouvel Observateur, the party withdrew to protest the seizure of their political manifesto during the campaign and other [translation] "pressure tactics" (25 Oct. 2004).

On 27 March 2004, the police blocked a demonstration for freedom of the press organized by the PDP and other opposition parties (AFP 27 March 2004). A similar demonstration organized by the PDP on 19 February 2004 was also blocked by the police (ibid.).

In a 10 June 2003 report, Amnesty International stated that "[i]n Tunisia, people suspected of opposing or even being critical of the government continue to be arbitrarily arrested, detained incommunicado - without access to lawyers or family members, tortured and imprisoned after unfair trials".

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 22 October 2004. "Démenti des autorités sur des "pressions" contre un parti d'opposition." http://www.tunezine.com/breve.php3?id_breve=758 [Accessed 12 Jan. 2005]

_____. 21 October 2004. "Un parti d'opposition se retire des élections de dimanche." http://www.tunezine.com/breve.php3?id_breve=759 [Accessed 12 Jan. 2005]

_____. 22 September 2004. "AFP : Le PDP décide de boycotter la présidentielle du 24 octobre." http://www.reveiltunisien.org/breve.php3?id_breve=1419 [Accessed 5 Jan. 2005]

_____. 27 March 2004. "Liberté de la presse : la police empêche un rassemblement." http://www.lintelligent.com/gabarits/articleAFP_online.asp?art_cle=AFP31704libertnemel0 [Accessed 12 Jan. 2005]

Amnesty International (AI). 10 June 2003. "Tunisia: The Cycle of Injustice." AI Index: MDE 30/001/2003 http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE300012003?open&of=ENG-TUN [Accessed 13 Jan. 2005]

Associated Press (AP). 22 October 2004. "Élections tunisiennes : les autorités qualifient de coup médiatique le retrait d'un parti d'opposition." http://www.tunezine.com/breve.php3?id_breve=758 [Accessed 12 Jan. 2005]

Country Reports 2003. 25 February 2004. United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27939.htm [Accessed 5 Jan. 2005]

Elections Around the World. 27 October 2004. "Elections in Tunisia." http://www.electionworld.org/tunisia.htm#parties [Accessed 14 Jan. 2005]

Le Nouvel Observateur. 25 October 2004. "Ben Ali conserve le pouvoir en Tunisie." http://archquo.nouvelobs.com/cgi/articles?ad=etranger/20041025.OBS9869.html&host=http://permanent.nouvelobs.com/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2005]

Parti démocratique progressiste (PDP). 25 October 2004. "Élections tunisiennes - Communiqué de presse du PDP." http://www.tunezine.com/breve.php3?id_breve=791 [Accessed 12 Jan. 2005]

Political Handbook of the World: 2000-2002. January 2004. Edited by Arthur Banks, William Overstreet, and Thomas Muller. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications.

Réveil tunisien. 15 September 2004a. "Le PDP aux élections 2004 : Une force de proposition et non de contestation. Entretien avec Me Néjib Chebbi candidat du PDP" http://www.reveiltunisien.org/article.php3?id_article=1393 [Accessed 5 Jan. 2005]

_____. 15 September 2004b. "Programme politique, économique et social du PDP." http://www.reveiltunisien.org/article.php3?id_article=1394 [Accessed 19 Jan. 2005]

Tunisia Online. n.d. "Political Parties in Tunisia: Progressive Democratic Party." http://www.tunisiaonline.com/elections2004/parties_politiques/parties_politiques02.html [Accessed 20 Dec. 2004]

Internet sources, including: AfrolNews, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Government of Tunisia, Human Rights Watch, InfoTunisie.com, L'Intelligent.com, International Federation for Human Rights, The National Council for Liberties in Tunisia, La Presse [Tunisia], Tunezine.com, Tunisie.com.