Rabat – Tunisian election hit a record low of 8.8% voter turnout, the lowest rate since the Arab Spring.
Out of the nine million registered voters, only 803,000 male and 638,000 female voters turned to the ballots amid the opposition’s boycott of the election. Opposition parties claim that the election is a mere “charade,” amid Saied Kais’ silent effort to stage a “soft coup.”
According to a report from Reuters, Tunisia’s main opposition coalition the Salvation Front maintain that the low election turnover means that Kais has lost his legitimacy as a leader, adding that he “should quit office.”
Opposition parties are currently calling for “massive protests and sit-ins” to force the Saied to step down.
After the Arab Spring, and the people’s uprising that brought democracy to Tunisia, the state of democracy has been slowly breaking down since Saied Kais took office.
Kais’ decision to move the country to rule by decree in July of 2021 was a red flag to Tunisians who were already concerned about the state of democracy in their country. The president’s decision to rule by decree stripped the power of the then-powerful parliament as it shut down.
While the president defended his decision saying that it was to prevent future political turmoil, many saw the measure as a silent attempt at gaining power and bringing the country’s democratic transition to a complete halt.
The country’s declining economic situation is making the president even less popular. The country’s inflation rate reached a staggering 9.8%, weighing down on people’s purchasing power amid skyrocketing unemployment rates of almost 17% in 2021.
The Tunisian government’s popularity especially took a hit in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis as their plan to fix the economy involved slashing subsidies for basic commodities.
“Why should I vote? … I am not convinced by this election,” one eligible voter told Reuters. “In the previous elections, I was the first to arrive… But now I’m not interested,” he added.
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