The Popular Front for the Realization of the Objectives of the Revolution ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحقيق أهداف الثورة; french: Front populaire pour la réalisation des objectifs de la révolution), abbreviated as the Popular Front (ej-Jabha), is a leftist

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

and

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

in Tunisia, made up of nine political parties and numerous independents. The coalition was formed in October 2012, bringing together 12 mainly left-wing Tunisian parties including the

Democratic Patriots' Unified Party The Democratic Patriots' Unified Party ( ar, حزب الوطنيين الديمقراطيين الموحد), formerly the Democratic Patriots' Movement, is a communist party in Tunisia. Established in 1981, the movement was only legalised in 2011 a ...

, the Workers' Party, Green Tunisia, the Movement of Socialist Democrats (which has since left), the Tunisian Ba'ath Movement and , two different parties of the Iraqi branch of Ba'ath Party, and other progressive parties. The number of parties involved in the coalition has since decreased to nine. Approximately 15,000 people attended the coalition's first meeting in Tunis.

History

The

Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...

in 2011 saw the departure of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...

, the dissolution of his party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally, and the holding of fresh elections for the creation of a new constitution. This saw the Tunisian political scene dominated by the Islamist

Ennahda Movement The Ennahda Movement ( ar, حركة النهضة, Ḥarakatu n-Nahḍah; french: link=no, Mouvement Ennahdha), also known as the Renaissance Party or simply known as Ennahda, is a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia. Foun ...

, and its allies the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties, the Progressive Democratic Party, and the Congress for the Republic. Front populaire contre la misere, Tunisie 2013

Front populaire contre la misere, Tunisie 2013

Former Prime Minister

Béji Caïd Essebsi Beji Caid Essebsi (or es-Sebsi; ar, الباجي قائد السبسي, translit=Muhammad al-Bājī Qā’id as-Sibsī, ; 29 November 1926 – 25 July 2019) was a Tunisian politician who served as the 6th president of Tunisia from 31 December 20 ...

then decided to return to Tunisian political life, and formed a new party known as the

Nidaa Tounes Nidaa Tounes ( ar, حركة نداء تونس ', french: Appel de la Tunisie; usually translated as "Call of Tunisia", "Call for Tunisia", or "Tunisia's Call") is a big tent secularist political party in Tunisia. After being founded in 2012 ...

, which is mostly composed of secular Tunisians, including centrists and those who are more right wing, including former supporters of the RCD. Twelve leftist parties then decided to form a Popular Front in order to better consolidate the previously divided Tunisian left wing so as to be able to compete more effectively in the upcoming elections.

Murder of Chokri Belaid

The 48-year-old coordinator of the Popular Front coalition,

Chokri Belaid Chokri Belaïd ( ar, شكري بلعيد, Shukrī Bil‘īd; 26 November 1964 – 6 February 2013), also transliterated as Shokri Belaïd, was a Tunisian politician and lawyer who was an opposition leader with the left-secular Democratic Pa ...

, was killed by an unknown gunman on 6 February 2013. An estimated 1,400,000 people took part in his funeral, while protesters clashed with police and

Ennahda The Ennahda Movement ( ar, حركة النهضة, Ḥarakatu n-Nahḍah; french: link=no, Mouvement Ennahdha), also known as the Renaissance Party or simply known as Ennahda, is a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia. Fou ...

supporters, who held a separate rally, attended by an estimated 15,000 people, on the day of the funeral defending the party against calls to give up power. The ruling

denied involvement in his death. The Popular Front, along with the secular Republican Party and

, subsequently announced they would withdraw from the national assembly and call for a general strike. On 9 April 2013, Mohamed Brahmi, General Secretary of the minor People's Movement, which holds 2 seats in the National Constituent Assembly, announced the decision of his party to join the Popular Front."Tunisia: 'Echaab' Movement Joins Popular Front"
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Murder of Mohamed Brahmi

On 25 July 2013, Mohamed Brahmi, a founder and former member of the Popular Front, was assassinated. Numerous protests erupted in the streets following his assassination.

Election results

Member parties

Current

* Workers' Party (PT; formerly ''Tunisian Workers' Communist Party'') led by Hamma Hammami. (

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various c ...

) * Party of United Democratic Patriots ''(Watad)'', merger of: **

Democratic Patriots' Movement The Democratic Patriots' Unified Party ( ar, حزب الوطنيين الديمقراطيين الموحد), formerly the Democratic Patriots' Movement, is a communist party in Tunisia. Established in 1981, the movement was only legalised in 2011 a ...

(MOUPAD) led by Ziad Lakhdhar, formerly led by

, until his assassination. (

Maoism Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

, Pan-Arabism) **Democratic Patriotic Workers' Party (PTPD), led by Mohamed Jmour. (

) * Tunisian Ba'ath Movement led by Othmen Bel Haj Amor, part of the pro-Iraqi Ba'ath Party. (

Ba'athism Ba'athism, also stylized as Baathism, (; ar, البعثية ' , from ' , meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection" Hans Wehr''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'' (4th ed.), page 80) is an Arab nationalist ideology which promotes the creation ...

) *, founded in July 2013 by Mohamed Brahmi after his resignation from the Popular Movement and shortly before his assassination, now led by Zouhair Hamdi and Brahmi's widow Mbarka Aouainia. *The Pole ''(al Qotb)'', led by Riadh Ben Fadhel, joined the Popular Front in June 2013. * Workers' Left League (LGO), led by Jalel Ben Brik Zoghlami. (

Trotskyism Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

) * (PPLP) led by Jalloul Azzouna. (

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

) * led by Kheireddine Souabni. (

) *Unionist Popular Front led by Amor Mejri. ( Pan-Arabism,

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

)

Former

These parties were temporarily affiliated with the Popular Front, but have left it: * Movement of Socialist Democrats (MDS) ( Democratic socialism) * People's Movement formerly led by Mohamed Brahmi (

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language a ...

Nasserism Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic an ...

) *Progressive People's Party, led by Mohamed Lassoued (

) * Green Tunisia Party, led by Abdelkader Zitouni (

Eco-socialism Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...

Green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It b ...

)

References

External links

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{{Tunisian political parties 2012 establishments in Tunisia