Only 8.8% of Tunisian voters turned out in Saturday’s election amid ongoing anger towards President Kais Saied.
Mr. Saied, who came to power in 2019, was criticized after the previous parliamentary shutdown last year and changed the constitution so that he could rule by decree.
He claimed the moves would save Tunisia from political paralysis and help him solve economic problems.
But opposition parties boycotted the vote, accusing the president of a coup after downplaying their role in democracy.
They demanded his resignation, some calling on the public to oppose his rule, but there were divisions among the parties that made it harder for them to organize.
Saturday’s vote comes 12 years after street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest. spark the Arab Spring and bring democracy to Tunisia.
But Mr. Saied’s actions and the opposition’s lack of unity have cast a shadow over the system of doubt.
One man, Abdl Hamid Naji, sitting next to the polling station on Saturday, said: “Why should I vote? I am not convinced by this election.
“In previous elections, I was the first to come… but now I don’t care.”
‘Humble, but not shameful’
According to local reporters, the public focus is on the economy, which has shrunk by more than 8% during the COVID pandemic and is recovering very slowly.
Some basic foods and medicines are no longer available, and more and more people are turning to the perilous Mediterranean.
crossing to try and start over in Europe.
The head of Tunisia’s electoral commission, Farouk Bouasker, described Saturday’s turnout as “modest but not shameful”, blaming the new voting system and lack of election campaigns. dispatch is paid.
Mohammed Bouazizi is depicted on the facade of the post office building in Sidi Bouzid
I Watch, an NGO that was set up after the 2011 revolution, blamed the new parliament, which it said had “lost all power”.
Due to the boycott of the main opposition parties, a total of 1,058 candidates, including only 120 women, contested for 161 seats.
For 10 of those seats, there is only one candidate.
And seven other elections decided by foreign voters have no candidates.
