Tunisia dissolves Ben Ali party

Tunis court announces the end of the Rally for Constitutional Democracy in accordance with demands from protesters. Last Modified: 09 Mar 2011 09:24 GMT

Pro-democracy protesters have been calling for the party's dismantling since Ben Ali was ousted [EPA] A Tunisian court has dissolved the former ruling party of the country's deposed leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The court in Tunis, the capital, announced the end of the Rally for Constitutional Democracy (RCD) on Wednesday, but the party said it would appeal against the decision. The chamber "decided to dissolve the Rally for Constitutional Democacy and to liquidate its assets and funds," the court said in its ruling, triggering a burst of applause. Pro-democracy activists have been demanding the party's dismantling since Ben Ali was ousted on January 14 after a popular uprising, that triggered unrest across the Arab world. The RCD was suspended from official activities in February by the interior ministry, after Ben Ali fled the country. The party, which claimed a membership of two million people out of a population of around 10.4 million, was accused of violating the constitution to set up a one-party "totalitarian regime" under Ben Ali. Since it was created in 1988, the party had never been audited and had never filed annual accounts, the interior ministry said.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies