More low turnouts in Tunisian elections
In what was a blow to Kais Saied, turnout in Tunisian parliamentary elections around the country on December 24 scraped to just over 10%, according to Middle East Eye.
The dismal election participation showed that political dissatisfaction in Tunisia is rife and that President Saied’s approval ratings are faltering.
Dozens of political opponents have recently been jailed under the Saied regime which has raised deep concerns for rights groups worldwide. The families of dissenters went to The Hague in October in an attempt to challenge the ruthless actions carried out by the President through a special procedure in international law.
The Independent High Authority for Elections confirmed that the election turnout was 11.6 % as critics of the president called on people to boycott the vote prior to election day.
9 million people are registered to vote and these set of the elections were the first under the establishment of a new constitution.
READ: Tunisia: Families of dissidents go to The Hague after mass arrests
The constitution was voted for in a referendum last year and it gives Kais Saied the right to essentially rule by decree. 96% voted in favour of the new constitution however voter participation was at around 30%. Critics have called the new system authoritarian.
Regarding the recent elections Munther Attia, a member of the Dignity Coalition opposition party argued, “When the boycott rate is around 90%, this means an overwhelming popular rejection of the political project, and this requires the resignation of officials, and calling for early presidential elections,”
Another critic, Osama Oueidat,spokesman for the People’s Movement ( a left-wing party in Tunisia) noted, “The more people’s concerns are absent from the political project, the more abstention will occur,”.
Tunisia is undergoing a severe financial crisis. Supermarket shelves lay bare and the country is forced to rely on imports which has further hampered the country’s struggling ecomomy.
Anti-Saied activists branded him “out of touch” for holding elections at a time when the country is in crisis and that they would only be served for his own political gain.
Around about this time last year, turnout in parliamentary elections were at a paltry 8.8% showing that political uncertainty in the country isn’t ceasing to disappear.
Middle East Eye/ Africa News
