The Progressive Democratic Party , also referred to by its acronym PDP, is a secular

Secularism

Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...

 liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

. It was founded under the name of Progressive Socialist Rally in 1983, gained legal recognition in 1988 and was renamed Progressive Democratic Party in 2001. Under the rule of Ben Ali

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was...

 it was a legal opposition party, but subjected to political repression. Since the Tunisian revolution

Tunisian revolution

The Tunisian Revolution is an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations taking place in Tunisia. The events began in December 2010 and led to the ousting of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011...

 it has been one of the major left-tending secular political forces. It is led by Ahmed Najib Chebbi

Ahmed Najib Chebbi

Ahmed Najib Chebbi or simply Najib Chebbi is a Tunisian attorney and politician.Chebbi is a prominent figure of the Tunisian opposition movement; in 1983, he founded the Democratic Progressive Party, which gained legal recognition in 1988. He is currently the leader of the Democratic Progressive...

 and Maya Jribi

Maya Jribi

Maya Jribi is a Tunisian politician. Since 2006, she has been the Secretary-General of the centre-left liberal Progressive Democratic Party ....

.

Under the Ben Ali rule

In its beginnings, the Progressive Socialist Rally (now PDP) gathered a broad range of currents from Marxists

Marxism

Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...

 and pro-democracy activists to progressive Muslims

Liberal movements within Islam

Progressive Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thought within Islam or "progressive Islam" ; but some consider progressive Islam and liberal Islam as two distinct movements)...

. During the Ben Ali rule, Najib Chebbi and the PDP were harassed by the police for years, and verbally attacked by state-run media. After unsuccessfully participating in elections from 1989 to 1999, the party decided to boycot the elections of 2004

Tunisian general election, 2004

General elections were held in Tunisia on 24 October 2004 to elect a President and Chamber of Deputies. In the presidential election, incumbent Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was re-elected for a fourth five-year term with 94.49% of the vote. In the Chamber of Deputies elections his Constitutional...

 and 2009

Tunisian general election, 2009

Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Tunisia on 25 October 2009. Results released on 26 October 2009 indicated a substantial victory for incumbent President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who won the reelection for a fifth five-year term, and the governing Constitutional Democratic Rally...

. Therefore it was unrepresented in the Tunisian parliament

Parliament of Tunisia

The Parliament of Tunisia is made up of two houses:*The upper chamber, the Chamber of Councillors*The lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies...

. After the Ben Ali administration announced to force the party to move their head quarters from Tunis, its leaders Najib Chebbi and Maya Jribi engaged in a 20-days hunger strike, which earned the party attention and prompted the administration to revoke their decision.

After the Tunisian revolution

Following the 2010–2011 Tunisian protests, shootings outside PDP's headquarter were reported on 16 January 2011. The next day, on 17 January, party leader Najib Chebbi, was named Regional Development Minister in the interim government. Ahead of the Constituent Assembly election, the PDP evolved into a main exponent of the centre-left secular camp and rival of the Islamist Ennahda Movement. 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.