Democratic elections should revive an economy brought to its knees by the revolution that swept from power the oligarchal regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the head of the Tunisian central bank said.

After years of averaging five-per cent growth, the revolution that began in December 2011 pushed Tunisia into economic free fall.

As the political process of writing a new constitution begins, problems that urgently need tackling range from 300,000 unemployed graduates to how to re-launch the country’s battered tourism industry.

“The top priority is the return of international and domestic investment, which we hope will come with (the return) of democracy,” Tunisian central bank governor Mustapha Kamel Nabli remarked.

The Islamist party Ennahda won 90 out of the 217 seats in the constituent assembly in the October 23 election and is now tasked with forming an interim government and writing the much-anticipated new constitution.

It has repeated assurances to investors that Tunisia remains an attractive country for business.

But the economy contracted by three percent in the first quarter and only 0.5 per cent growth is expected for all of 2011.

For the governor, growth will improve with the return of confidence.

Mr Nabli warned however that in order “to create enough jobs and remedy social inequality”, Tunisia needed seven per cent annual growth.