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{{Infobox Tunisian political party
| name = Progressive Democratic Party
| arabic_name = الحزب الديمقراطي التقدمي
| french_name = Parti démocrate progressiste
| logo = [[File:Progressive Democratic Party (Tunisia) logo.jpg|175px]]
| abbreviation = PDP
| leader =
| chairperson =
| president =
| first_secretary =
| secretary_general =
| spokesperson =
| founder =
| former_leaders_title = secretaries-general
| former_leaders = {{nowrap|[[Ahmed Najib Chebbi]] (1983–2006)}}<br>[[Maya Jribi]] (2006–2012)
| slogan =
| founded = {{Start date and age|1983|br=y}}
| legalized = {{Start date and age|1988|09|12|df=y|br=y}}
| dissolved = {{End date and age|2012|4|9|df=y|br=y}}
| predecessor = Progressive Socialist Rally
| merged = [[Republican Party (Tunisia)|Republican Party]]
| headquarters =
| newspaper =
| student_wing =
| youth_wing =
| membership_year =
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| ideology = [[Liberalism]]<ref>{{Citation|author=David Kirkpatrick|title=Tunisia Postpones Election, Possibly Aiding New Parties|newspaper=New York Times|date=8 June 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/world/africa/09tunis.html |accessdate=21 October 2011}}</ref><br> [[Secularism]]<ref>{{Citation|title=Factbox - How Tunisia's election will work|work=Reuters|date=22 October 2011|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tunisia-vote-idUKTRE79K78420111021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306101431/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tunisia-vote-idUKTRE79K78420111021|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 6, 2016|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=Rachel Shabi|title=From Arab Spring to elections: Tunisia steps into a new era |newspaper=The Independent|date=21 October 2011|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/from-arab-spring-to-elections-tunisia-steps-into-a-new-era-2373751.html|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref><ref name="Tunisia parties">{{Citation|author=Sam Bollier|title=Who are Tunisia's political parties? |work=Al Jazeera English|date=9 October 2011|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/10/201110614579390256.html|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref>
| national =
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| colors =
| symbol =
| website = {{URL|http://www.pdp.tn/}}
| footnotes =
}}

The '''Progressive Democratic Party''' ({{langx|ar|الحزب الديمقراطي التقدمي}}, ''{{Transliteration|ar|al-Ḥizb ad-Dīmuqrāṭī at-Taqaddumī}}''; {{langx|fr|Parti démocrate progressiste}}), also referred to by its acronym '''PDP''', was a [[secularism|secular]] [[liberalism|liberal]] [[political party]] in [[Tunisia]].

==History and profile==
The Progressive Democratic Party was founded under the name of Progressive Socialist Rally in 1983. It gained legal recognition on 12 September 1988<ref name=gs>{{cite web|title=Tunisia - Opposition Parties|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/tunisia/politics-opposition.htm|work=Global Security|accessdate=11 October 2014}}</ref> and was renamed Progressive Democratic Party in 2001. Under the rule of [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali|Ben Ali]] it was a legal opposition party, but it was subjected to political repression.<ref name="Guardian">{{Citation|author=Angelique Chrisafis|title=Tunisian elections: the key parties|newspaper=The Guardian|date=19 October 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/19/tunisia-elections-the-key-parties |accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref> After the [[Tunisian revolution]] it was one of the major left-leaning secular political forces.<ref name="BBC_Hicks">{{Citation|author=Celeste Hicks|title=Tunisia election: Loving and loathing Islamists |work=BBC News|date=21 October 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15377242|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref> It was led by [[Ahmed Najib Chebbi]] and [[Maya Jribi]]. On 9 April 2012, it merged into the [[Republican Party (Tunisia)|Republican Party]].

The Progressive Democratic Party had a newspaper, ''Al-Mawqif''.<ref name=gs/><ref>{{cite web|title=Tunisia's Media Landscape|url=http://www.mediasupport.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ims-tunisia-assessment-2002.pdf|work=International Media Support|accessdate=11 October 2014|format=Report|date=June 2002}}</ref>

==Under the Ben Ali rule==
In its beginnings, the Progressive Socialist Rally (now PDP) gathered a broad range of currents from [[Marxism|Marxists]] and pro-democracy activists to [[Liberal movements within Islam|progressive Muslims]].<ref>{{Citation|author=Emily Parker|title=Maya Jribi|publisher=tunisia-live.net|date=6 September 2011|url=http://www.tunisia-live.net/2011/09/06/maya-jribi-2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309174051/http://www.tunisia-live.net/2011/09/06/maya-jribi-2/|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 March 2012|accessdate=21 October 2011}}</ref> During the Ben Ali rule, Najib Chebbi and the PDP were harassed by the police for years, and verbally attacked by state-run media.<ref name="Reuters">{{Citation |title=Who are Tunisia's main opposition figures? |publisher=Reuters |date=17 January 2011 |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/tunisiaNews/idAFLDE70G1MA20110117 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017190635/http://af.reuters.com/article/tunisiaNews/idAFLDE70G1MA20110117 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 October 2014 |accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref> After unsuccessfully participating in elections from 1989 to 1999, the party decided to boycott the elections of [[Tunisian general election, 2004|2004]] and [[Tunisian general election, 2009|2009]].<ref name="tunisia-live">{{Citation|author=Eymen Gamha|title=Progressive Democratic Party|publisher=tunisia-live.net|date=9 October 2011|url=http://www.tunisia-live.net/2011/10/09/parti-democratique-progressiste-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%91%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%88%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%91%D9%85%D9%8A/|accessdate=21 October 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022151826/http://www.tunisia-live.net/2011/10/09/parti-democratique-progressiste-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%91%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%88%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%91%D9%85%D9%8A/|archivedate=22 October 2011}}</ref> Therefore, it was unrepresented in the [[Parliament of Tunisia|Tunisian parliament]]. After the Ben Ali administration announced to force the party to move their headquarters from Tunis, its leaders Najib Chebbi and Maya Jribi engaged in a 20-day hunger strike, which earned the party attention and prompted the administration to revoke their decision.<ref name="tunisia-live"/>

==After the Tunisian revolution==
Following the [[2010–2011 Tunisian protests]], shootings outside PDP's headquarters were reported on 16 January 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tunisia situation remains tense |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011116141359683604.html |work=[[Al Jazeera English]] |date=16 January 2011 |accessdate=18 January 2011}}</ref> The next day, on 17 January, party leader Najib Chebbi, was named [[Regional Development Minister (Tunisia)|Regional Development Minister]] in the interim government.<ref name="Reuters"/> Ahead of the [[Tunisian Constituent Assembly election, 2011|Constituent Assembly election]], the PDP evolved into a main exponent of the centre-left secular camp and rival of the Islamist [[Ennahda Movement]].<ref name="Tunisia parties"/><ref name="BBC_Hicks"/> In the run-up to the elections, the Progressive Democrats have received quite an amount of financial support which enabled the party for a lavish campaign. Critics claim that an important part of the funding came from businesspeople close to the old Ben Ali power elite.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news |title=Financing Questions Shadow Tunisian Vote, First of Arab Spring |author=David D. Kirkpatrick |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/world/africa/tunisia-election-faces-financing-questions.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 October 2011 |accessdate=23 October 2011}}</ref>

In the [[Tunisian Constituent Assembly election, 2011|election for a constituent assembly]], the PDP won 3.9% of the popular vote and 16 of 217 seats in the [[Constituent Assembly of Tunisia|National Constituent Assembly]], putting it at the fifth place. As the party had categorically ruled out any collaboration with the victorious Islamist [[Ennahda Movement]], the Progressive Democrats went into opposition and belong to the outspoken critics of the governing coalition of the Islamists with the secular [[Congress for the Republic|CPR]] and [[Ettakatol]] parties. After the electoral defeat, the PDP launched talks with other secularist and liberal parties to form a "big party of the centre".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.businessnews.com.tn/Premier-meeting-du-%C2%AB-Grand-Parti-du-Centre-%C2%BB-%C5%95-Tunis,533,29191,3 |title=Premier meeting du " Grand Parti du Centre " à Tunis |newspaper=Business News |date=7 February 2012}}</ref> The merger was realised on the PDP's fifth congress on 9 April 2012.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cavatorta |first=Francesco |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6uYLEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT102 |title=Routledge Handbook on Political Parties in the Middle East and North Africa |last2=Storm |first2=Lise |last3=Resta |first3=Valeria |date=2020-12-29 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-29330-2 |page=102 |language=en}}</ref> The new party is called the [[Republican Party (Tunisia)|Republican Party]] and comprises, in addition to the PDP, the [[Afek Tounes]] party, several extra-parliamentary parties and independents.<ref>{{Citation |first=Hichem |last=Benzarti |title=Un congrès unificateur des forces démocratiques centristes |newspaper=La Presse de Tunisie |date=10 April 2012 |url=http://www.lapresse.tn/10042012/48054/un-congres-unificateur-des-forces-democratiques-centristes.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412184735/http://www.lapresse.tn/10042012/48054/un-congres-unificateur-des-forces-democratiques-centristes.html |archivedate=12 April 2012 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.pdpinfo.org PDP site]
{{Tunisian political parties}}

[[Category:1983 establishments in Tunisia]]
[[Category:2012 disestablishments in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Defunct liberal political parties]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Formerly banned political parties in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Liberal parties in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 2012]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1983]]
[[Category:Secularism in Tunisia]]

Progressive Democratic Party (Tunisia) - Revision history

imported>Truthanado: c/e, dates in infobox