Tunisia votes for president with Saied's main opponents in jail
Tunisia's election on Sunday pits President Kais Saied, who
rights groups say has removed most democratic checks on his power, against a
candidate who was suddenly jailed last month and another who heads a minor
political party.
Candidates who represented bigger opposition groups were
already in prison or removed from
the ballot by an electoral commission named by Saied, and an independent court
has been stripped of
authority to adjudicate on election disputes.
Saied now faces just two candidates. Al-Chaab party head
Zouhair Maghzaoui is a former Saied ally turned critic.
The other, Ayachi Zammel, was not well known before the
election campaign but appeared to be gaining in popularity after he was jailed,
drawing support from the backers of other political movements and generating a buzz
on social media.
Tunisia was for years hailed as the only relative success
story of the 2011 "Arab Spring" uprisings for introducing a
competitive, though flawed, democracy following decades of autocratic rule.
Saied won the 2019 election on a wave of popular anger over
economic failure and corruption among the elite. Frustrated in his efforts to
bring change, Saied unilaterally dismissed parliament in 2021, first suspending
the constitution and then rewriting it.
Opposition groups that accused him of undermining democracy
staged protests. However, leaders of the main parties involved in those efforts
have since been jailed and they now accuse the president of trying to rig
Sunday's election.
Saied has rejected charges that he wants to unpick democracy
or has dictatorial tendencies. He instead says his opponents are traitors and
that his political programme is aimed at eradicating corruption.
Few Tunisians appear enthusiastic about Sunday's vote. A
referendum Saied held on his new constitution in 2022 garnered a turnout of only
30%, while the 2023 elections to a new parliament from which he had removed most
power had only an 11% turnout.
"There is no election, just an endorsement for a person
who holds all powers and can do whatever he wants and change the laws as he
pleases," said Mouhamed Raboudi, a teacher.
If a candidate gets over 50% of the vote, they will be
elected president, otherwise, it goes to a run-off. There has been no opinion
polling. The result is not expected before Oct. 9.
Tunisia's biggest political party, the Islamist Ennahda, has
faced severe restrictions since its leader Rached Ghannouchi, the former
parliament speaker, was jailed last year on charges he said were trumped up. It
has not fielded a candidate.
Despite their problems, other opposition groups had hoped to
challenge Saied for the presidency.
Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, was
imprisoned last year on charges of harming public security. Another prominent
politician, Lotfi Mraihi, was jailed this year on charges of vote-buying. Both
deny the allegations.
Both had said they would run in October but were prevented
from submitting their applications from prison.
Three other candidates seen as offering a credible threat to
Saied were then banned from running by the electoral commission, which used to
be independent but is now appointed by the president.
The administrative court ordered that they be reinstated on
the ballot but the commission rejected that. The parliament elected under
Saied's new constitution then stripped the court of any electoral role.
Candidate Zammel was arrested on Sept. 5 on suspicion of
falsifying election documents and sentenced to 20 months in prison on Sept. 18.
On Tuesday he was sentenced to a further 12 years in prison
on the same charges. His lawyer has said these were all politically motivated.
Meanwhile, Tunisians still face a crisis in public finances
that has led to periodic shortages of subsidised goods such as sugar, coffee
and rice, as well as water and electricity outages, high unemployment and high
inflation.
Recovering tourism numbers after the COVID pandemic and
assistance from European countries worried about migration from Tunisia have
helped Saied get by without submitting to unpopular spending cuts required for
an IMF loan programme.
"I voted for Saied years ago with enthusiasm because I
thought things would get better. Unfortunately, the situation is getting
worse," said Ayman, a merchant.
"It is true that he is a clean man, but he has done
nothing to change. I am hesitant whether to give him another chance or vote for other candidates," he added.
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