Ghannounchi on Tunisia's Democracy

On October 28, Sheikh Rached Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda Party, discussed the successes and challenges of Tunisia’s democratic transition at an event hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace. He acknowledged that Tunisia still faces  economic and security problems that could threaten the political transition. But he added that “Despite the challenges, we are very optimistic.” The following is the full video of the event, followed by a transcript of Sheikh Ghannouchi's opening remarks.

Exactly one year ago, Tunisians celebrated their second free and fair elections. Although Ennahdha came second, we celebrated the elections as a victory for all Tunisians. As we see it, a free and fair election is a victory for all Tunisians. We congratulated the winners, Nidaa Tounes on their victory.

Today, Ennahdha proudly serves in the coalition government that represents nearly 80% of parliament. This model of democracy, coalition, and consensus is being celebrated by all friends of Tunisia and all believers in democracy.

But the road hasn’t been all easy.

Just over two years ago, in 2013, Tunisia’s democratic transition nearly collapsed. Many voices were raised seeking to shut down the democratic process, and stop the writing of the constitution.

Tunisia faced many risks – but the single most important factor for me was the hopes and dreams of generations in Tunisia - and indeed around the region, that our countries can achieve democracy. That being a Muslim, an Arab, and a democrat, is possible.

What mattered most for us, was to protect national unity, and save the democratic transition process. At that critical moment, we made a very difficult decision rarely made by political parties – we gave up power, that we won through free and fair elections, and we accepted to join the National Dialogue.

We also decided to choose reconciliation and not revenge against the people who were part of the old regime. We voted against the exclusion law which would have excluded everyone who worked with dictatorship. We did this because we saw what happened in Iraq and in Libya which led to the collapse of the state. We also believe that we need national reconciliation to be able to open a new page in our history, so that we can focus on the present and the future not just on the past.

Our decision – together with the other parties in the dialogue – put the train of democratic transition back on track. The writing of the constitution was continued. We wanted a constitution, for all Tunisians, not just the majority. That is why we adopted consensus and dialogue as the means of solving differences. This has resulted in a constitution voted by 94% of parliament. We have now a constitution that guarantees democracy, citizen rights, equality between men and women, freedom of conscience and belief, and freedom of the press.

As a result, Tunisia had its second free and fair elections, and we are now building the institutions of a democratic republic. Throughout that difficult period, we have always tried very hard to avoid polarization, whether between Islamist and secularists, or between revolutionary forces, and old regime. This I believe, was also very important for the success of the Tunisian model.

Cooperation between moderate Islamists and moderate secularists, is necessary for the success of democracy in our region. That is why, when we won the 2011 elections we chose to form a coalition government with two secular parties. And that is why after the 2014 elections, we decided to join the coalition government with Nidaa Tounes and Afek and UPL.

We believe that in transitional democracy governing with 51% is not enough. We need a wide majority close to 75% to create a stable and strong government that is able to undertake the necessary reforms. The Nobel Peace Prize recently awarded to the National Dialogue Quartet, is a testimony of our achievements.

But Tunisia has not yet reached safety. Despite our huge progress, we have many challenges ahead.

The first is the economy. Economic growth is key to building a healthy democracy. The revolution was a call for freedom, development, and jobs. Young people are now waiting to see if democracy can deliver any fruits. Our government is working hard, to reform and modernize the economy, and create opportunities for all Tunisians. We are introducing a new investment code, bank reforms and public private partnership law.

The second challenge is security. Our enemies know that if they attack the economy, they can undermine democratic progress and extinguish the last flame of the Arab Spring. Ennahdha is working in government to protect the security of our citizens and visitors, through a new counter-terrorism law, and security reforms.  Ennahdha believes that ensuring safety, and protecting human rights, need to be compatible.

Repressing freedom to protect security, only undermines both. We were the victims of oppression before, and this is why we are committed, not to allow the old practices of oppression to return. We are committed to protecting the human rights of our citizens, and the protection of the freedom of the press.

Despite the challenges, we are very optimistic. Tunisia has already shown that it can overcome the biggest difficulties peacefully. But we need your urgent support. We need a dramatic increase in international support from our friends.  We need a mini Marshall plan for Tunisia.

Reform takes time, but we need to work together, to show that democracy, does deliver. Tunisia provides an alternative to the other narratives in the region. The first is the one that calls for extremism, terrorism, and the one that claims that Islam and democracy are not compatible. The one that calls for the clash of civilizations.

The second is the narrative that claims that stability can still be achieved through dictatorship and oppression.

Tunisia provides an alternative.

Photo credits: Tunisian girl with flag by Robin Wright Ghannouchi by the U.S. Institute of Peace