Early legislative elections marked by strong abstention, less than 9% of voters exercised the right to vote, and a united opposition calling for a boycott. Tunisia lived this Saturday an anticipated struggle against its democratic system, whose purpose would be to strengthen the Government of President Kaïs Said, but which shows a break marked by the new electoral and constitutional rules.
Voter turnout lower than the record inflation rate hitting Tunisia, 9.8%. This is a reflection of the controversial parliamentary elections that took place this Saturday in the North African country, with only 8.8% of the barely nine million voters exercising their right to vote. One of the symptoms of disillusionment with the politics of a large part of Tunisians, who do not see how these elections could get the nation out of the economic crisis in which it is plunged.
A democratic pulse whose purpose is to strengthen the Government of President Kaïs Said, but whose reality is strong abstentionism. “This president has disappointed us and is dragging us towards the abyss,” said a Tunisian who did not vote in these legislative elections. Even the relevant UGTT union federation has said the vote is meaningless.
“We want to see an improvement in our country, especially in terms of economic and social rights. That’s what we ask for. We don’t care which candidate wins,” Mongi Zied, a 67-year-old retiree, told AFP. The vast majority of Tunisians On the contrary, they did not even go to the polls, thus demonstrating their discontent with the Executive, strongly criticized by the Tunisian opposition, who called for a boycott of the ballot, accusing it of being a “farce”. for all kinds of elections while the economy is getting worse and worse,” criticized Mohammed Jraidi.
نسبة الاقبال على التصويت للانتخابات التشريعية 2022 ??? إلى حدود الساعة 18:00#TnLeg22 pic.twitter.com/qPD5jz56pJ
— ISIE (@ISIETN) December 17, 2022
Early elections accused of “farce”
Tunisia is the only country whose democracy still resists almost twelve years after the Arab Springs of 2011, but whose cracks – due to the social and economic crises, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic – are making a dent in what was the system most stable political party, the result of the massive social uprising that began in Tunisia and ended with the overthrow of the then dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Precisely, this December 17 coincides with the twelfth anniversary of the death of Mohammed Bouazizi, a young street vendor, who set himself on fire on public roads as a protest, starting the revolution that spread from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt to Syria or Yemen.
A symbolic coincidence for some, but it also shows that the country’s unresolved crises could give rise to another social uprising and shake its democracy. To avoid this, Said asked the public to trust him in a call to vote to elect the members of the People’s Representation Assembly, with 1,058 candidates, only 120 women, competing for 161 parliamentary seats.
“God willing, we will create a new history for Tunisia. God willing, we will create a new history in which all Tunisians can live freely, in which each of us finds his right in his homeland, finds his right to education, health, transportation and social security,” the president said early in the morning from his polling station in a northern Tunis suburb.
Many Tunisians, especially from the most rural and abandoned regions of the country of just over 12 million inhabitants, claim to be tired of electoral processes that do not resolve their precarious situation, economic stagnation, or the high cost of the basic food basket. The current president, a former law professor, came to power raising the banner of fighting corruption endemic in Tunisia’s post-Ben Ali-era democratic system.
What are the controversial changes in Said’s political system?
In July 2021, Said held a referendum – whose abstention exceeded 70% – to reform the Constitution and managed to seize full powers, leaving Parliament weakened and turning Tunisia into an ultra-presidential system. The new Chamber “will not be able to appoint a government or censor it, except under drastic conditions and almost impossible to comply with,” political scientist Hamadi Redissi told AFP.
With the new Magna Carta of July 2021 and the reforms in the electoral laws of last September, the rules of the electoral campaign, the procedures for voting and the functioning of Parliament changed, strengthening the powers of the president. The new electoral law stipulates that candidates must now compete individually, without showing affiliation, thus separating candidates from political parties; a measure contested by several opposition parties. It also provides for stricter rules regarding sponsorships, each voter can also sponsor only one candidate.
Another of Said’s reforms to electoral regulations has to do with people with dual nationality, whose participation is limited to constituencies abroad. Members of the government, chiefs of staff, judges, heads of diplomatic missions or even imams, for their part, cannot compete unless they have left office for at least a year. In addition, despite the fact that the old electoral regulations were governed by gender parity in the lists, the new regulations do not imply equality despite the fact that it is included in the Constitution.
These reforms were described as a “coup” by the opposition since, according to Said’s new electoral law, political parties have a much smaller role. For this reason, the main opposition coalition, the Salvation Front, delegitimized the elections this Saturday and demanded the resignation of the president, asking citizens for “massive protests.” In addition, in recent days the opposition leaders have been announcing that they will not recognize the results of these elections, which will begin to be known preliminarily on December 20 and the final ones before January 19, 2023; but there could be a second round that would be in February or March.
For all these reasons, criticism from the opposition, general weariness among Tunisians and low turnout could hinder Said’s government, which is facing significant economic challenges and unpopular measures to alleviate the crisis. “These elections are a formality to complete the political system imposed by Kais Saied and concentrate power in his hands,” analyst Hamza Meddeb, a fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, told AFP.
With AFP, Reuters and EFE.
