President of Tunisia may in exceptional circumstances put certain draft laws to a referendum. Article 87 specifies that the president enjoys legal immunity while in office. Since the promulgation of a republican constitution in June 1959, three years after gaining independence from France, Tunisia has had just three directly elected presidents. The first president was Habib Bourguiba, who became the country's first president after the proclamation of a republic in 1957; he had been the country's de facto leader as prime minister since independence in 1956. He was formally elected to the post in 1959, and was proclaimed president for life in 1975.
Habib Bourguiba speech in favor of political pluralism: However, this turning failed because of the internal electoral confrontation in the capital city, during parlementary elections, and, despite the Prime minister, Mohamed Mzali's efforts. Therefore, the war of succession worsened. In this context, Wassila Bourguiba, interviewed by "Jeune Afrique", on 28 February 1982, stated that "With the current version of the constitution, continuity is artificial and the risk of popular rejection is not excluded. The Tunisian people respects Bourguiba but true continuity will only happen when Bourguiba's work is pursued by a democratically-elected president." Habib Achour, interviewed by the same magazine on 11