Photo: Ahmed Abdel Fatah
Mohamed Bouazizi, a twenty-six year old vegetable vendor, self-immolates in Sidi Bouzid in protest of local officials’ demanding bribes. The event sparks public outrage and protests in the governorate, which are put down with violence by police. Bouazizi dies on January 4, and his actions come to symbolize the injustice and economic hardship afflicting many Tunisians under the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali regime. Throughout December 2010 and January 2011, protests spread throughout the rest of the country, eventually reaching the capital Tunis, where police break up several protests with tear gas and riot gear. Later reports allege that over 300 were killed during the uprisings, however the majority of the protests remained peaceful.
Ben Ali steps down as president, leaving the country. Tunisian state media reports that the government has been dissolved and that legislative elections will be held in the next six months. Ben Ali’s Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi assumes power as president, but on January 15 is replaced as interim president by Fouad Mebazaa, the former speaker of the lower house of the Tunisian parliament. At the time, both are members of Ben Ali’s political party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD).
Ghannouchi, acting as prime minister, announces the formation of a new unity government that incorporates several opposition figures in cabinet posts alongside several sitting ministers from the Ben Ali regime. The next day, however, the future of the interim government appears to be in jeopardy when a number of the cabinet’s new ministers from opposition parties resign in response to fresh street protests over the inclusion of ministers from the previous regime. Attempting to signal a break with the past, Mebazaa, Ghannouchi, and the interim government’s cabinet ministers who had served under Ben Ali all withdraw from the RCD. The interim government announces another set of reforms, lifting Ben Ali’s ban on opposition political parties and granting amnesty to all political prisoners. In February the government officially suspends all RCD activities.tory info here
Egyptians take to the street in nationwide demonstrations calling for the removal of the 30-year dictator, Hosni Mubarak. During the 18 days of protests hundreds are killed, as protesters from across the political spectrum participate in the demonstrations. Protesters in Cairo gather in the now-iconic Tahrir Square, staging a sit-in until Vice President Omar Suleiman announces Mubarak’s resignation. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, a governing body of 21 officers in the military, assumes leadership of the country.
Anti-government protests break out in Sana’a, calling for the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s thirty-three-year regime.
First protests calling for Muammar al-Qaddafi to step down emerge in Benghazi in which thirty-eight protesters were beaten by Libyan security forces. This incident marked the prelude to the First Battle of Benghazi that sparked the Libyan Civil War.
Amid continuing protests over the interim government’s links to the Ben Ali regime, Ghannouchi steps down as interim prime minister. He is replaced by Beji Caid Sebsi. In early March, the Tunisian government legalizes the Ennahda Party, a moderate Islamic party banned under the Ben Ali regime, paving the way for it to enter candidates in future elections.
A government crackdown on protestors in Sana’a’s Change Square kills dozens and is labeled a massacre. This turns the Yemeni public against the Saleh regime, and Saleh’s military advisor General Ali Mohsen defects.
Egyptians take to the polls for the first time after Mubarak’s ouster in a referendum on constitutional amendments to the 1971 constitution proposed by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF). The amendments, meant to set the legal framework for the post-Mubarak democratic transition, include limiting the presidential term, stipulate the appointment of a vice president, and outline the conditions for presidential bids. The amendments are approved by 77 percent of voters, with a 41 percent voter turnout. Islamists push for a ‘yes’ vote, framing it as a vote in favor of ‘Sharia,’ since the amendments maintained the role of Sharia in the constitution, while liberal forces call for a ‘no’ vote.
Legislative Decree 35/2011 is issued, providing a law for the election of a National Constituent Assembly. The assembly will be composed of 217 members, elected by universal suffrage and proportional representation with equal gender representation respected on the candidates’ lists. Elections are originally slated for July 24, 2011, but in June the interim government will postpone the election to choose a constitutional council until October 23, 2011, saying that more time is required to prepare for a credible vote.
