The regime has so far not addressed the crucial issue of reforming the constitution and electoral laws. The constitution, adopted in 1959, has been deftly chopped and changed over the decades to tighten the RCD‘s grip on the nation.
Article 57 sets in motion an election procedure carefully designed to maintain one-party rule. Only the existing parliament and a few officials can nominate presidential candidates. Given that Ben Ali distributed parliamentary seats to official opposition parties in proportionate to their loyalty to his rule, it does nothing but perpetuate the status quo, while lending it a veneer of pseudo-legitimacy.