Tunisia’s leader has scheduled the next presidential election for October 2024 but did not disclose whether he will seek a second term after five years in office. President Kais Saied set October 6 as the election date in a decree issued late Tuesday, according to a statement from the presidency. Saied’s first term ends on October 23.
This election will provide voters their first opportunity to evaluate Saied’s tenure amidst an economic crisis and a perceived shift toward authoritarianism. Saied, who ran in 2019 on a populist, anti-corruption platform, had initially energized Tunisians frustrated with party politics and economic stagnation following the Arab Spring protests that ousted the country’s long-standing dictator in 2011.
However, Saied has since reversed some of Tunisia’s democratic gains, rewriting the constitution to consolidate his power and jailing critics, including members of the largest political parties. Analysts expect he will seek a second five-year term, as the new constitution grants him extensive powers.
In 2021, Saied dissolved the parliament after lawmakers of the Ennahda opposition Islamist party held a virtual session to annul his actions aimed at assuming sweeping powers. Saied argued that the country faced “imminent peril” due to protests and economic issues, and he has governed by decree ever since.
Over 40 of Saied’s critics and political opponents have been jailed in the past year on various charges, including conspiring against national security. Among those imprisoned is the leader of Ennahda, the largest opposition party. Earlier this year, Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of Ennahda, was sentenced to three years in prison on charges that his party relied on foreign financing for its 2019 political campaigns. This sentence adds to a 15-month prison term he received last year for supporting terrorism and inciting hatred.
Tunisia’s main opposition coalition has announced it will not participate in the presidential election unless Saied’s political opponents are released and judicial independence is restored. The National Salvation Front, which includes Ennahda, has expressed concerns about the fairness of the election.
Several other political leaders have announced their candidacies. These include Abir Moussi, leader of the right-wing Free Destourian Party, who is in custody on suspicion of disturbing public order, and Lotfi Mraïhi of the Republican Popular Union party, who previously ran for president in 2019. Authorities have issued a warrant against Mraïhi for alleged money laundering.
(AP)
