Presidential Elections Demand Amid Tunisia’s Crisis
Barely days after the catastrophic Tunisian parliamentary elections, with its record low turn out, pressure is already mounting on the incumbent president to step down and begin a process of new presidential elections.
The low election turn out and pressure on President Saied now has implications right across the MENA region where elites will watch closely the events unfolding, with some even mulling legislation to force people to vote.
The Free Destourian Party in Tunisia called on President Kais Saied to abolish the results of the parliamentary elections, vacate the seat of president and call for early presidential elections.
The party, which lawyer Abir Moussi heads, addressed Saied saying: “You cannot deny or be ignorant that you have lost your legitimacy and legality as President of the Tunisian Republic and that you are considered a usurper of power.”
The party called on Saied to “declare the status of vacancy at the level of the presidency … and to call immediately for presidential elections as soon as possible to settle the situation and restore the normal status of the presidency. This can be implemented by considering the current government as a caretaker government that has no powers other than the management of urgent issues in the country.”
According to Middle East Monitor, the results of the recent parliamentary elections sparked widespread controversy in Tunisia, especially since it witnessed the lowest turnout of voters in the country’s history, which actually turned out to be around 25% and not the 8.8% originally reported.
