Tunisia: Understanding Conflict 2012 - Johns Hopkins School of ...

Unlike the smaller parties, the major parties did develop political platforms, but
their policy proposals generally did not play a prominent role in their campaign
messaging. To the extent that voters were even aware of the parties’ policy proposals,
some commentators worry that the parties’ platforms were overly aspirational and have
raised expectations to an unhealthy level.
Organization and Outreach
The legacy of dictatorship meant that none of the current parties emerged from the old
political system with a strong and active grassroots network of supporters. Nevertheless,
an organizational gap soon emerged between Ennahdha and its secular rivals. Although
Ennahdha had not been active in Tunisian society since the organization was decimated
in the early 1990s, the group was able to quickly re-establish itself by tapping into its
existing network of supporters. The daughter of the founder of Ennahdha, Soumaya
Ghannouchi, explains: “Even though there was no organized structure on ground before
the revolution because of the crackdown on the party, the people still kept their allegiance
to the party. And once they were able to express that they did so and very quickly
organized themselves” (Public Radio International, 6 January 2012). Building political
networks requires time, resources and an inspiring vision with broad appeal, and
Ennahdha seems to have wielded an advantage in all three areas. The Party of Justice and
Development, a small Islamist rival to Ennahdha, illustrates the disparity. The party held
its first meeting in February 2011, and lacking Ennahdha’s existing network of
supporters, it has primarily relied on Facebook to spread its message and recruit its
estimated 900 volunteers, even though the party’s founder also emphasizes the
importance of direct voter contact (Interview with Mohamed Salah Hedri, SAIS group
meeting, 24 January 2012).
In addition to the party’s inherent advantages, Ennahdha’s leaders recognized the
importance of building a solid ground organization and allocated significant resources to
grassroots outreach. It was the first party to open up offices around the country and its
flyers, billboards and rallies helped establish its presence even in rural areas. Ettakatol
also held popular rallies, but the party lacked the national reach of Ennahdha (Interview
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