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{{Infobox political party
|country = Tunisia
|name = Movement of Socialist Democrats
|native_name = ''{{lang|ar|حركة الديمقراطيين الاشتراكيين}}''<br>{{lang|fr|Mouvement des démocrates socialistes}}
|colorcode = #FF0000
|logo =
|chairman = [[Mohamed al Mouadda]]
|founded = {{Start date|1978}}
|headquarters = [[Tunis]], [[Tunisia]]
|secretary_general =
|seats1_title = [[Assembly of the Representatives of the People (Tunisia)|Assembly of the Representatives of the People]]
|seats1 = {{Infobox political party/seats|0|217|}}
|ideology = [[Democratic socialism]]<ref name="Tunisia parties">{{Citation
|position = [[Centre-left]]
|international =
|colors = Red and white
|newspaper =
|website =
}}
The '''Movement of Socialist Democrats''' ({{lang-ar|حركة الديمقراطيين الاشتراكيين}}, ''{{transl|ar|Ḥarakat Ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyīn Al-Ishtirākiyyīn}}'' ; {{lang-fr|Mouvement des démocrates socialistes}}, '''MDS''', also translated as "Socialist Democrats Movement") is a [[political party]] in [[Tunisia]].
The MDS was founded by defectors from the then ruling [[Socialist Destourian Party]] (PSD) and liberal-minded expatriates in 1978. The founders of the MDS had already been involved in the establishment of the [[Tunisian Human Rights League]] (LTDH) in 1976/77.<ref name="Alexander46">{{Citation
Tunisia was then a single-party state ruled exclusively by the PSD. The MDS remained illegal until 1981 when the more reform-minded Prime Minister [[Mohammed Mzali]] allowed oppositional parties to run candidates' lists in elections and announced to officially recognise them in case they won more than 5%. Among the minor, weakly institutionalised oppositional parties, the MDS presented the most appealing candidates list and threatened to actually beat the PSD in the capital Tunis. The government decided to rig the elections. So, according to official results, the MDS won only 3.2 percent, behind the ruling PSD with 94.6 percent.<ref>{{Citation
However, the government relented and allowed the MDS to officially register in 1983. It was one of three legal oppositional parties during the 1980s. The MDS welcomed [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali]] taking over the presidency from the logterm head of state Bourguiba in 1987. Many MDS members believed that Ben Ali really pursued reforms and liberalisation and defected to his [[Constitutional Democratic Rally]] (RCD), weakening the MDS. Ahmed Mestiri led the party until 1990. In the early 1990s, the party was torn between cooperation with the government and opposition.<ref>{{Citation
In 1994, the electoral law was changed, ensuring the parliamentary representation of oppositional parties. The MDS received 10 of 163 seats (19 being reserved for the opposition).<ref>{{Citation
After the [[Tunisian revolution]] of 2011, the party obtained two seats in the [[Tunisian Constituent Assembly election, 2011|election for the Constituent Assembly]].
The MDS has published the Arabic weekly newspapers ''Al-Moustaqbal'' ("The Future") and ''Al-Ra'i'' ("Opinion"), as well as the French-language ''L'Avenir''.<ref>{{Citation
==References==
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