Events in Tunisia have moved very quickly.

Demonstrations started on 18 December. However, they were only felt in Tunis on 10 January. On 13 January President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali made a television announcement promising jobs and also, in effect, promising to step down in 2014. He came to office in November 1987. However, his appearance did not stop the unrest. Therefore, on 14 January he announced a state of emergency. At that point, it appears as if key members of the military and the political establishment lost confidence in him. As a result, he fled the country later that day. The rumours suggest that he was en route to Paris, but was told that he would not be able to land and so he went to Saudi Arabia.

In the evening of 14 January the prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, who is, incidentally, the longest-serving PM in any semi-presidential country having been in office since 1999!, assumed the presidency, stating that President Ben Ali was “temporarily unable” to assume his responsibilities. However, the next day, the Constitutional Court ruled that the presidency was vacant. Therefore, consistent with Art. 57 of the the 1957 Constitution as amended up to 2003, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Fouad Mebazaa, was appointed as interim president. So, Tunisia had three presidents in two days.

While there has undoubtedly been regime change, supporters of former president Ben Ali are fighting back. Jeune Afrique is reporting that there is ongoing violence. For example Ben Ali’s nephew, Imed Trabelsi, was killed on Saturday night, which has enraged the former president’s supporters and there do seem to be attempts to try to restore the previous regime. However, so far, the change has held.

Jeune Afrique is also reporting that there is talk of a constitutional amendment that would allow elections to take place within six months. As it stands, the constitution requires elections within 60 days. It appears as if this timetable is too optimistic.

Tunisia has been constitutionally semi-presidential since 1988.

There is ample coverage of current events in French at Tunisie Soir. There are also some very good posts at The Monkey Cage.