Zine El Abidine Ben Ali a case known as the "couscous connection". French television news was blocked in Tunisia during the trial. At the 1994 elections, opposition parties polled 2.25% and gained 19 of 163 seats in Parliament—the first time opposition parties had actually managed to get into the chamber. Ben Ali was unopposed for a second full term, again after being the only candidate to get enough endorsements to qualify. Turnout was officially reported at 95%. However, at this and subsequent elections, opposition parties never accounted for more than 19 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies. All legislation continued to originate
Mohamed Ben Salem Mohamed Ben Salem Mohamed Ben Salem, born on 19 february 1953, is a Tunisian politician. He served from December 2011 to January 2014 as Minister of Agriculture under the Prime Ministers Hamadi Jebali and Ali Laarayedh. He is a member of the Ennahda Movement. In 1987, he was jailed for nine months, and two and a half months between the years 1990 and 1991. He lived in exile in France from 1991 to 2011. During that time, he was involved with the Paris-based Tunisian Solidarity Association. On 20 December 2011, after former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was deposed,