Getty ImagesTunisian President Kais Saied, seen by his supporters as a savior and his critics as a dictator, is running for re-election in Sunday’s vote and is all but certain to win.
More than a dozen politicians had hoped to challenge him, but the electoral commission approved only two additional names to be added to the ballot.
One of them, Ayachi Zamel, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for falsifying documents just five days before voting.
Tunisia is where the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings against authoritarian rulers in North Africa and the Middle East, began in late 2010. Tunisia was considered a bellwether of democracy for the Arab world.
But since President Said was elected on a wave of optimism in 2019, the 66-year-old president has prorogued parliament and rewritten the constitution, concentrating power in his hands.
This is Tunisia’s third presidential election since Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown in 2011. He was in power for more than 20 years before being forced to flee to Saudi Arabia following months of mass protests.
Sarah Yerkes, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who specializes in Middle East issues, told the BBC that the president had “manipulated the political and legal situation beyond dispute. He is unique.” A strong candidate.”
There have been no campaign rallies or public debates, and nearly all campaign posters on the streets belong to the president.
Tunisia’s election “was really a referendum on Kais Saied,” Yerkes added.
North Africa’s main opposition party, Annada, said the arrest rate of party leaders was unprecedented.
The New York-based group Human Rights Watch reported that authorities removed eight other candidates from the election through prosecution and imprisonment.
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There were several protests in Tunis in the lead-up to the election.
In recent weeks, people have taken to the streets of the capital Tunis to protest President Said and demand free and fair elections.
Zamel, leader of a small liberal party, Ajmoun, was jailed for forging voters’ signatures on candidacy papers, but his name will continue to appear on ballots.
According to Reuters, he denies the charges.
Another candidate, former lawmaker Zuhair Magzaoui, had supported the president’s bid to seize power in 2021 but later became a critic.
“The Tunisian authorities are carrying out a clear pre-election attack on the pillars of human rights,” said Agnès Callamard, executive director of human rights group Amnesty International.
Mr Yerkes told the BBC that Tunisia’s leaders had “steadily dismantled a decade’s worth of democratic progress”.
However, he was initially seen in a completely different light.
Said, a prominent legal scholar, promised a “new Tunisia” when he won more than 70% of the presidential vote in 2019.
Yerkes said he represented “Tunisia’s non-elites” and sought to “be a voice for the more marginalized.”
Stimulating the economy and curbing corruption were some of his pledges after his victory.
Asked what he would do about the economy, he told a local newspaper: “We will empower the people with tools.” He did not specify what these tools were.
Nicknamed “The Professor,” he enjoyed a huge following, especially among young people disillusioned by the endless bickering of the political class.
But in 2021, he dissolved parliament and seized all executive power, triggering what experts call a “self-coup.”
He justified his actions by saying new powers were needed to break the cycle of political paralysis and economic decline.
That same year, in an interview with the New York Times, he quoted former French President Charles de Gaulle, saying, “Why would I, at 67 years old, start a career as a dictator?” He denied ambition. ”
Under Saied, Tunisia fell from 53rd to 82nd place on the Economist Information Bureau’s Democracy Index, which measures political freedom and pluralism.
“He has already returned Tunisia to dictatorship,” Yerkes said.
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Most of the election posters you see on the streets of Tunisia are of President Saied.
In addition to the shaky state of democracy in Tunisia, the lack of employment is also a hot topic. According to the World Bank, the unemployment rate is 16%.
The country’s economic problems have forced many young people to emigrate.
Tunisia is an important starting point for migrants heading to Europe.
At least 12,000 migrants who landed on Italian beaches last year left Tunisia, according to United Nations figures.
Fearing a further influx of migrants, the European Union struck a deal with Tunisia, giving the country $118m (£90m) to stop smuggling, strengthen borders and return migrants.
Mr Said also took a populist approach to rally support, blaming immigration for the country’s economic problems.
He accused black sub-Saharan immigrants of being part of a “conspiracy” to change the country’s demographics and denounced “traitors working for foreign countries.”
This led to a series of racist attacks against black people living in Tunisia.
While his rhetoric has garnered some support, there are some who are offended by his comments.
Groups in the country organized anti-racist protests in response to his remarks.
Yerkes said he is trying to shift the blame, but “there is no sign that we can turn the economy around.”
In his first election manifesto, released shortly after the official campaign began, Mr Said vowed to strengthen health services, transport and social security after decades of efforts to “eliminate” public institutions.
Mr. Said’s consolidation of power has created a mood of apathy ahead of the election.
Last year, only 11% of voters came to vote to elect new members of parliament.
“The turnout this time around is likely to be just as bad,” Yerkes said.
Official results will be announced within three days of the election, but there is little doubt about the results.
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