LFar from the spotlight, Tunisia is sinking into an authoritarian drift that continues to worsen to stifle any hope of change and a return to democracy. The presidential election scheduled for October 6, which will see President Kaïs Saïed put his mandate on the line for the first time since his constitutional coup of July 25, 2021, is shaping up to be another step in a process of authoritarian restoration. A restoration that saw the president begin by granting himself full powers, then adopt a new hyper-presidentialist Constitution, destroy democratic institutions and repress all dissenting voices: political opponents, independent journalists, lawyers, judges and civil society activists. Nothing more and nothing less than a process of systematic dismantling of the gains made in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution.
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Characterized by clear violations of electoral regulations, the preparation of this election is no exception. The Administrative Court, if seized, should be required to rule on these irregularities… provided that it decides to escape pressure from the executive.
This election is a major test for the army, an institution that has played a notable role since 2011, particularly in regulating electoral competition. For Tunisians going to the polls, making their choice under the benevolent gaze of a republican army that guarantees the smooth running and probity of the vote has become a guarantee of democracy and acceptance of the result. Invested with a role that is in no way limited to logistical aspects, the army has established itself as a guarantor of the peaceful change of power, which has made Tunisia an example in the region.
A difficult choice
The post-2011 democratic process was an opportunity for the armed forces to reconcile with the popular will and to assume their mission in accordance with the expectations of the population after decades of marginalization under Habib Bourguiba. During the reign of the “Supreme Fighter”, the military institution was carefully kept out of the political arena and used mainly to repress popular uprisings (trade union revolt of January 1978, bread riots of 1984). The rise to power in 1987 of Ben Ali, a man who had learned his trade in the army, called upon by a Bourguiba at the end of his career to crush the Islamist protests, raised fears that Tunisia would slide into a military dictatorship that came to the rescue of a power that was running out of steam. But the “medical coup” of 1987 would ultimately not lead to a military regime. [la santé de Bourguiga se dégradait]Preferring to rely on a well-established single party and a bureaucracy ready to serve him, General Ben Ali established a police system, which ended up being rejected by a majority of the population in 2011.
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