Five years ago, no one saw Kais Saied’s autocratic drift coming. This austere constitutionalist, little known to the general public, then won a landslide victory in the presidential election. 73% of the votes.
He took advantage of circumstances, notably the incarceration of his main opponent, Nabil Karoui, for embezzlement. But he was also able to offer Tunisians an attractive project, far from the political parties despised by the people: fight against corruption, praise of probity, authority…
Since then, Saied, 66, has become the hyperpresident. In 2021, he dismissed his government, suspended Parliament, and assumed full powers. The opposition has no doubt: it is a coup d’état.
A year later, he reformed the Constitution to seal the new regime. The text is adopted by referendum. And too bad if participation barely exceeds 30%.
The authoritarian drift affects all sectors of society. Saied deprives all intermediary bodies of their powers: justice, parties, unions, the press…
The main opposition movement, Ennahda, Islamo-conservative, is a prime target. Around fifty party executives have been arrested since 2021, including its leader Rached Ghannouchi. Ennahda had nevertheless supported Kais Saied in the second round of the presidential election five years ago.
The new Tunisian regime is attacking public freedoms and spaces for protest. Almost a return to the Ben Ali years, the dictator fired by his people at the start of the Arab Spring in 2011.
Betrayal of the 2011 Revolution
And this year, Kais Saied has locked in the presidential election. Around fifteen candidates presented themselves to him. Only two will be able to compete on Sunday October 6. The first, Ayachi Zammel, was sentenced this week to 12 years in prison. He allegedly falsified the sponsorships necessary to apply, sponsorships which were also very difficult to obtain.
The second, Zouheir Maghzaoui, is a pan-Arab nationalist who supported Saied’s putsch three years ago, in other words a stooge.
The campaign is non-existent. In the streets of Tunis, there are no meetings, no leaflets, no electoral posters.
The only issue in the ballot: participation. It had difficulty reaching 11% during the legislative elections at the start of the year. Tunisians are turning away from politics.
Kais Saied, for his part, is looking for scapegoats to justify the country’s economic problems. Starting with immigrants. His regime points the finger at Africans who cross Tunisia to flee to Europe. Thousands of them were expelled into the desert. Many died.
The European Union has its share of responsibility. It pays Tunisia to reduce the migratory flow. An agreement was signed last year with Kais Saied.
Figures in the fight for human rights sign a column this week condemning “the indifference of Western democracies”. Europe turns a blind eye to the excesses of the Saied regime for fear that Tunisia will throw itself into other arms, those of Russia, China or Iran. This is a very bad reason not to denounce this rigged presidential election, yet another betrayal of the 2011 Revolution.
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