Low voter turnout expected as polls open
Tunisia opened polls for its second round of elections for a toothless parliament yesterday, with voters preoccupied by economic woes and turnout seen as crucial in the politically divided nation.
A total of 262 candidates are competing for 131 seats from Tunisia’s 161member legislature, which was largely stripped of its powers following a series of extraordinary measures launched by President Kais Saied on July 25, 2021.
Since the beginning of the year, Tunisians have taken to the streets to demonstrate against Mr Saied who is widely regarded as unpopular by Tunisians.
In July 2021, President Kais Saied sacked the government, froze parliament and seized far-reaching executive powers, later grabbing control of the judiciary — moves opponents said aimed to install a new dictatorship in the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings.
Mr Saied also dismantled the hybrid parliamentary system that had been in place since 2014.
The latest polls, whose first round in December saw just 11.2% of registered voters take part, are seen as the final pillar of Mr Saied’s transformation of politics.
The new legislature will have almost no power to hold the president to account.
“I don’t plan to vote,” said Ridha, a carpenter in the capital Tunis who declined to provide his surname. “I can’t trust anyone anymore.”
Analysts predicted low turnout again among Tunisia’s 7.8 million eligible voters for the second round as major parties including Saied’s arch-rivals, the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha, hold a boycott.
Youssef Cherif, director of Columbia Global Centers in Tunis, said “this parliament will have very little legitimacy, and the president, who is all-powerful thanks to the 2022 constitution, will be able to control it as he sees fit.”
Tunisians have a “lack of interest” in politics, Mr Cherif added.
With inflation at over 10% and repeated shortages of basic goods from milk to cooking oil, Tunisia’s 12 million people have been focused on more immediate issues.
Global ratings agency Moody’s on Saturday downgraded Tunisia’s credit rating to Caa2, citing “the absence of comprehensive financing to date to meet the government’s large funding needs”.
Lawyer and political expert Hamadi Redissi called the economic situation “dramatic”.
“Along with soaring prices, we’re seeing shortages and the president is pathetically blaming ‘speculators, traitors and saboteurs,’” he said.
More than 32,000 Tunisians are estimated to have emigrated irregularly over the past year, amid sluggish growth and rising poverty and unemployment.
The election takes place in the shadow of Tunisia’s drawn-out negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout worth nearly US$2 billion (65.5 billion baht).
Mr Cherif said the talks were stumbling over the United States’ concerns for the future of Tunisian democracy and Mr Saied’s apparent reluctance to “accept the IMF’s diktats” on politically sensitive issues, including subsidy reform.