Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Ben Ali was re-elected for a fifth term with 89% of the vote. The African Union sent a team of observers to cover the election. The delegation was led by Benjamin Bounkoulou, who described the election as "free and fair". However, a spokesperson from the US State Department indicated that Tunisia had not permitted monitoring of the election by international observers, but that the U.S. was still committed to working with the Ben Ali and the Tunisian government. There also were reports of mistreatment of an opposition candidate. In December 2010 and January 2011, riots over unemployment escalated into a
Ridha Grira Banque Tuniso-Libyenne. He took on the role of General Secretary of the Government. On January 16, 1992, he was assigned the position of General Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ministry. On April 22, 1999, he was chosen as Minister of State Properties and Land Affairs. On 14 January 2010, he became the Minister of National Defense. After the ousting of the Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali during the revolution of 2011, Ridha Grira was reappointed by Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to his position within the « national unity government » formed by Mohamed Ghannouchi. This government was strongly opposed