Zine El Abidine Ben Ali the press, Tunisia was ranked 143 out of 173. In response to the protests, Ben Ali declared a state of emergency, dissolved the government on 14 January 2011, and promised new legislative elections within six months. However, events moved quickly, and it appears the armed forces and key members of the legislature had lost confidence in Ben-Ali, and had decided to take steps of their own. With power slipping from his grasp, Ben Ali resigned the presidency at about 16:00 and delegated prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to act as head of state during his "temporary" absence. With the army surrounding
Benjamin Bounkoulou line with the African Union's standards", and he called for the results to be respected. Shortly before the July 2009 presidential election, Bounkoulou stressed the importance of having a peaceful election and urged the people to behave in a responsible and civic manner so that the election would be an example to Africa and the world. He headed the African Union's observer mission for the October 2009 Tunisian election and expressed approval of the election, saying that voters were not pressured to vote for President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Seeking another term in the Senate in the October 2011