As Tunisia votes again following a boycott, all eyes are on the turnout

 

The final piece of President Kais Saied's reform of Tunisian politics is the re-election of a parliament with no legislative authority on Sunday.

Due to Saied's activities in July 2021, Tunisia is currently experiencing a severe economic crisis and significant political conflicts.

Just 34 of the 262 candidates standing for 131 seats are women, and just 11.2% of registered voters participated in the first round of voting last month. Since the 2011 uprising that ousted Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, that was the lowest voter turnout in a national election.

The last round occurs 18 months after Saied ousted the government and suspended the legislature. He then moved to control the courts and enacted a constitution in July that handed his office nearly limitless executive authority.

Tunisians, according to Youssef Cherif, director of Columbia Global Centers in Tunis, "lack interest" in politics.

According to the 2022 constitution, which gives the president absolute power, "this parliament will have very little legitimacy, and the president will be free to manage it as he sees fit."

Hamadi Redissi, a lawyer and political analyst, stated that the newly elected assembly "will not have to endorse the government, nor can it censor it without a two-thirds majority" of both parliament and a council of regional representatives, whose composition has not yet been determined.

The legislature's ability to hold the president accountable will be minimal.

Similar to the first round, the majority of political parties advocated for a boycott. These parties have been marginalised by a system that forbids candidates from expressing affiliation to a political party.

There aren't many well-known candidates running for office, and there aren't many posters on the walls in Tunis.

In addition, many Tunisians are sceptical of all politicians notwithstanding Saied's rupture with the established political class.

Carpenter Ridha declared, "I don't think I can trust anyone, so I'm not going to vote."

To try to pique the interest of those voters who supported Saied's campaign for the presidency in 2019, the electoral board has scheduled televised debates.

However, the over 10% inflation rate, ongoing shortages of essential items like milk and gasoline, as well as strikes by teachers and transport workers, are more pressing concerns for Tunisians than politics.

Many people viewed the gift of 170 food trucks sent last week by the government of war-torn Libya, which is situated in Tripoli, as a humiliation.

Redissi declared that the nation was "on the brink of disintegration."

The president is shamelessly blaming "speculators, traitors, and saboteurs" for shortages and rising prices, he claimed.