Politics of Tunisia was introduced by President Bourguiba in 1956. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was criticized for the low levels of democracy and freedom of expression in the country by Amnesty International and various other organizations. which documented restrictions of basic human rights and obstruction of human rights organizations. "The Economist"'s 2008 Democracy Index ranked Tunisia 141 out of 167 countries studied and 143 out of 173 regarding freedom of the press. Later in his rule repression became more brutal, corruption more visible and the economy more stagnant. The Jasmine Revolution overthrew President Ben Ali in 2011—marking the beginning of the
Fouad Mebazaa Constitutional Democratic Rally since 1988. From 1995 to 1998 he was Mayor of Carthage. He was also elected President of the Chamber of Deputies in 1997 and reelected in 2004. After the exile of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to Saudi Arabia following continued protests, Mebazaa was appointed as President following the Constitutional Council's interpretation of the situation and the Constitution. Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi had briefly claimed to be President the previous day, prior to the Constitutional Council's declaration of its opinion. Under Article 57 of the Constitution, an election was to take place between 45 and 60