Of the Tunisian Political Revolution and the power of the people

By: Peter Qeko Jere
15th January, 2011

The sacrifice of one person has the power to bring about remarkable revolution and the downfall of a regime. This was the case in Tunisia where the sacrificial death of one man led to the revolution that forced the sitting head of state to flee the country. The one man who paid the sacrifice for the liberation of the nation was Mohammed Bouazizi, a poor vegetable seller who set himself alight to death in protest for the way the Tunisian authority treated him.

It is reported that the moments after Mr Bouazizi's death the first protests began where Tunisians gathered around his abandoned vegetable cart and scaled the Governor's gates. The unrest then spread across the country which forced Ben Ali to flee the country to Saudi Arabia. After Ben Ali unceremoniously left the country, the country’s Speaker of Parliament Fouad Mebazza assumed the power of the President and asked the Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to form a coalition government composed of all key political stakeholders in Tunisia as the country awaits the General Election in six months time.

In a move to please the protestors, both the interim President and the Prime Minister resigned from the ruling party in Tunisia. This however seem not to mean anything to the Tunisian people who see them as playing games with the people because they all along have been Ben Ali royalist. At the same time, the formation of an interim government by the Ben Ali’s Prime Minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi seem not to change the protesting mood of the Tunisian people who are still daily demonstrating asking for a total change of the regime, mainly that all Ben Ali’s key men to be out of the interim administration.

Now the Tunisian political revolution which has ousted President Ben Ali shows that there is massive power in the people if they are united with one common purpose. Ben Ali ruled the country undemocratically for 23 years and managed to self enrich himself nepotistically at the expense of the majority poor Tunisians. He managed to accumulate wealth corruptly within the 23 years of his reign. However what we witness happening in Tunisia has demonstrated that it is possible for people who are united with one common purpose to achieve great things. This has shown that in politics, power belong to the people. It took a few days of serious protest to have Ben Ali flee the country. This also has shown that in as much as the electorates are sometimes taken for granted, they have the power which if evoked, can cause massive damage in the political life of those politicians who care less about them. This Tunisian political episode shows that politicians need to respect those who put them in office and not take advantage of them. Ben Ali for many years thought he was the Tunisians untouchable great statesman and had no idea that he was gonna flee the country unceremoniously as he did to go into exile.

Now that Ben Ali has fled the country into exile, the key question is; should the remnant of Ben Ali regime continue to rule Tunisia? Should the Tunisian people allow Ben Ali’s Prime Minister and the care taker President rule Tunisia? Can this interim regime led by Ben Ali diehard be trusted? In as much as Ben Ali men still cling into position of authority, they need to know that the Tunisian people seem not to like them because they all were part of the corrupt and undemocratic Ben Ali’s regime. So the presence of Ben Ali’s key men ruling Tunisia today shows the indirect rule of Ben Ali in the country. Ben Ali even though he is in exile in Saudi Arabia, he will continue to indirectly rule the country through his men, the Prime Minister and the now elected President. The revolution in Tunisia was about a total change of political authority where Ben Ali and his men were suppose to leave office once and for all and give space to democrats in Tunisia to rule the country.