The Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties , also referred to as Ettakatol or by its French acronym FDTL, is a social democratic

Social democracy

Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...

 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 on 9 April 1994 and officially recognized on 25 October 2002. Its founder and Secretary-General is the radiologist Mustapha Ben Jafar

Mustapha Ben Jafar

Mustapha Ben Jafar is a Tunisian politician and doctor who has been President of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia since November 2011...

.

During 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...

, the FDTL played only a secondary role. It was a member of the oppositional 18 October Coalition for Rights and Freedoms alongside the Progressive Democratic Party

Progressive Democratic Party (Tunisia)

The Progressive Democratic Party , also referred to by its acronym PDP, is a secular liberal political party in Tunisia. 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...

, the Communist Party of Tunisian Workers and some Islamists. Although participating in legislative elections, it could not win any seats in the Tunisian parliament

Chamber of Deputies of Tunisia

The Chamber of Deputies is the lower chamber of the Parliament of Tunisia, the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Tunisia. It has 189 seats and members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. 20% of the seats are reserved for the opposition. Elections are held in the...

. Ettakatol's secretary-general Ben Jafar attempted to run for the 2009 presidential election

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...

, but was barred from the race.

After 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...

 of 2011 and ahead of the Constituent Assembly election, Ettakatol developed into a main representative of the centre-left 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...

 camp. On 17 January 2011, party leader Ben Jafar was named Health Minister in the interim government, but stepped back only days later in protest against the unchanged prevalence of the old dominant RCD

Constitutional Democratic Rally

The Constitutional Democratic Rally , also referred to by its French acronym RCD, formerly called Neo Destour then Socialist Destourian Party, was the governing party in Tunisia. The party was suspended by the minister of interior on February 6th awaiting a decision on its dissolution by judicial...

 party. The Forum relies mainly on the voluntary commitment of its grassroot members and its activities in social media

Social media

The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...

.

The party is an observer of the Socialist International

Socialist International

The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...

. Since 2007 the party has published an Arabic weekly newspaper entitled Mouatinoun (Citizens).