50 Dinars 2004 Presidential and Legislative Elections, 17th Anniversary of the 7 November Change

The "7 November Change" commemorated here refers to the bloodless coup of November 7, 1987, in which Zine El Abidine Ben Ali deposed the aging and increasingly erratic Habib Bourguiba — founding father of independent Tunisia — by invoking a medical incapacity clause. Ben Ali had himself declared president the same morning. The annual commemoration became one of the regime's central legitimizing rituals, and coinage marking these anniversaries was issued with notable regularity throughout his presidency.

The 2004 elections referenced on this piece returned Ben Ali with 94.49% of the vote, a figure that drew sharp criticism from international observers.