Tunisia's president seeks new term with one candidate in jail

Tunisia's President Kais Saied, seen arsenic a saviour by supporters and an autocrat by critics, is moving for re-election connected Sunday successful a ballot that helium is each but definite to win.

More than a twelve politicians had hoped to situation him, but the electoral committee approved lone 2 further names for the ballot paper.

And 1 of those, Ayachi Zammel, was sentenced to 12 years successful situation for falsifying documents conscionable 5 days earlier the poll.

Tunisia was wherever the Arab Spring, a bid of uprisings against autocratic rulers successful North Africa and the Middle East, began successful precocious 2010. The state was seen arsenic a beacon of ideology for the Arab world.

But since President Saied was elected connected a question of optimism successful 2019, the 66-year-old has suspended parliament, rewritten the constitution and concentrated powerfulness into his hands.

This is Tunisia's 3rd statesmanlike predetermination since Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown successful 2011. He had been successful powerfulness for implicit 2 decades earlier helium was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia pursuing months of monolithic protests.

Sarah Yerkes, a elder chap astatine the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace with an expertise successful the Middle East, told the BBC, that the president had "manipulated the governmental and ineligible concern to specified an grade that determination is nary contention – helium is the lone viable candidate".

There person been nary run rallies oregon nationalist debates, and astir each the run posters successful the streets person been of the president.

Tunisia's predetermination was "really a referendum connected Kais Saied", Ms Yerkes added.

The North African country’s largest absorption party, Ennahda, said its elder members had been arrested astatine a level it had not seen before.

New York-based radical Human Rights Watch reported that the authorities had excluded 8 different prospective candidates from the predetermination done prosecution and imprisonment.

In caller weeks, radical person taken to the streets of the capital, Tunis, to protestation against President Saied and request free-and-fair elections.

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Although Zammel, who heads the tiny wide Azimoun party, was jailed for falsifying elector signatures connected his candidacy paperwork, his sanction volition inactive look connected the ballot paper.

He has denied the charges, the Reuters quality bureau reports.

The different candidate, erstwhile lawmaker Zouhair Maghzaoui, had been a protagonist of the president's 2021 powerfulness drawback but aboriginal became a critic.

“Tunisian authorities are waging a wide pre-election battle connected the pillars of quality rights," said Agnès Callamard, the secretary-general of rights radical Amnesty International.

Ms Yerkes told the BBC that Tunisia's person had "steadily dismantled a decade-worth of antiauthoritarian progress".

But helium was initially seen successful a precise antithetic light.

When Saied, an acclaimed ineligible scholar, won much than 70% of the statesmanlike ballot successful 2019, helium promised “a caller Tunisia”.

He represented "the non-elite successful Tunisia" and tried "to beryllium a dependable for the much marginalised populations", said Ms Yerkes.

A rejuvenated system and curbing corruption were a fewer of the promises helium made aft his victory.

When asked what helium would bash astir the economy, helium told a section newspaper, helium would "empower the radical with tools". He did not specify what these tools would be.

Nicknamed “the professor”, helium had immense support, particularly among young radical disillusioned by the endless bickering of the governmental classes.

But successful 2021, helium initiated what experts picture arsenic a “self-coup” erstwhile helium dismissed parliament and assumed each enforcement power.

He justified his actions by saying helium needed caller powers to interruption the rhythm of governmental paralysis and economical decay.

That aforesaid twelvemonth helium denied having immoderate autocratic aspirations successful an interrogation with the New York Times erstwhile helium quoted the erstwhile French President Charles de Gaulle saying: "'Why bash you deliberation that, astatine 67, I would commencement a vocation arsenic a dictator?'”

Under Saied's rule, Tunisia has dropped from 53rd spot to 82nd connected the Economist Intelligence Unit's ideology index, which measures governmental freedoms and pluralism.

“He has already returned Tunisia to autocracy,” said Ms Yerkes.

In summation to Tunisia's faltering democracy, the deficiency of jobs is different blistery topic. Unemployment is astatine 16%, according to the World Bank.

The country's troubled system has forced galore young radical to emigrate.

Tunisia is simply a cardinal departure constituent for migrants who privation to scope Europe.

UN figures amusement that astatine slightest 12,000 migrants who landed connected Italy's shores past twelvemonth near from Tunisia.

Fearing a further influx of migrants, the European Union made a woody with Tunisia, giving the state $118m (£90m) to halt smuggling, fortify borders and instrumentality migrants.

Saied has besides taken a populist attack to stoke enactment and blamed migrants for the country's economical problems.

He accused achromatic sub-Saharan migrants of partaking successful a “plot” to alteration the country's demographic profile, blaming “traitors who are moving for overseas countries”.

This led to a spate of racist attacks against achromatic radical surviving successful Tunisia.

While his rhetoric has garnered him immoderate support, determination are those who person been turned disconnected by the remarks.

Groups successful the state organised anti-racist protests successful effect to his comments.

He has attempted to displacement blasted but has “shown nary signs that helium tin crook the system around”, said Ms Yerkes.

In his archetypal electoral statement, published conscionable aft authoritative campaigning began, Saied pledged to fortify wellness services, transport and societal information aft decades of efforts to "eliminate" nationalist institutions.

Saied's consolidation of powerfulness has led to an apathetic temper up of the elections.

Last year, lone 11% of the electorate turned up to ballot for caller members of parliament.

It is “likely that the turnout this clip astir volition beryllium likewise abysmal”, said Ms Yerkes.

The authoritative results volition beryllium announced wrong 3 days of the predetermination but the result is hardly successful doubt.