How to defy an authoritarian? In Tunisia, election is a battle cry.
| AMMAN, Jordan; and TUNIS, Tunisia
Overcoming years of division and infighting, Tunisia鈥檚 civil society and political parties are uniting to confront President Kais Saied, whose power grab聽since his election, observers聽say,聽is turning back the clock on the last democracy standing from the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions.
The catalyst for this newfound unity is a round of parliamentary elections being pushed through by the聽populist聽president聽tomorrow that dramatically reduces聽what鈥檚 left of Tunisia鈥檚 democracy.
Under a new, restrictive constitution, what was a multiparty parliament that drafted laws and directed policy is becoming a ceremonial chamber with little legislative powers, subservient to the president.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onConfronting their autocratic president鈥檚 plans to put a weakened parliament firmly under his thumb with new elections, Tunisian civil society and political parties are putting aside their differences. But their tools are limited.
Independent observers warn further that the new election format聽is unfree聽and聽unfair, adding that聽the result of the elections will be聽a rubber-stamp parliament聽that聽will be the final nail in the coffin聽of聽their democracy.
However, the rights groups, coalitions, and political parties now joining forces to oppose Mr. Saied lack a consensus national leader around whom they can coalesce, and their main leverage, beyond protests, is to boycott Saturday鈥檚 vote and brand it as illegitimate.
Mr. Saied also still retains significant public support from citizens who bought into his anti-establishment rhetoric.
Protesters聽say they are nevertheless determined to prevent the last of Tunisia鈥檚 democratic institutions from falling under the increasingly autocratic president鈥檚 control.
鈥淚f political groups and civil society don鈥檛 unify, then this dictatorship will continue and we will be taken backwards to before聽the聽2011 revolution,鈥澛爏ays聽19-year-old Suha Ben Kadim,聽a protester聽at an anti-election聽demonstration聽held by civil society groups and the National Salvation Front聽in downtown Tunis聽last聽Saturday. 鈥淐ivil society organizations have no option but to work together as one hand.鈥�
Electoral change
Saturday鈥檚聽polls聽are being held to聽replace the parliament that steered the country and was a beacon for聽democracy, individual聽rights, and聽pluralism聽in the Arab world.聽Under the new constitution penned by Mr. Saied, the new chamber will have no oversight powers or power to impeach, its legislative role reduced to advising and approving laws introduced by the president.
Under聽the election law designed聽by Mr. Saied, who is openly disdainful of political parties,聽citizens聽can聽vote聽only聽for individual independent candidates within their district,聽and not for a聽party or national electoral list.
As a result,聽political parties are boycotting聽the election,聽and a group of largely unknowns 鈥� Saied supporters and loyalists 鈥� are on the ballot.
The country鈥檚 Independent Electoral Commission, once a model for the region, had its directors sacked by Mr. Saied and replaced with loyalists. The commission proceeded to approve Mr. Saied鈥檚 electoral law and regulations without review, independent Tunisian election experts say, moves that led most international observers to pass up monitoring the polls.
Mr. Saied鈥檚 government has barred international journalists from interviewing candidates, and Tunisia鈥檚 journalists union says authorities have harassed reporters and media outlets critical of the elections.
Many political liberals who supported Mr. Saied鈥檚 earlier moves to concentrate power in the presidency say this shift in election format reneges on the president鈥檚 promise of聽a new, inclusive, and聽devolved democratic system.聽Public figures who once supported the president are speaking out against him.
鈥淭oday, in general, civil society, political society, media, academics, and elites are all against the decisions of Kais Saied; there is much concern about these elections,鈥� says Amine聽Ghali, director of Al Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center, a Tunis-based democracy nongovernmental organization.
Protests and rallies聽led聽by聽civil society groups and political parties聽have brought聽thousands to the streets. And activists聽ranging聽from women鈥檚 rights聽advocates聽to Islamists are canvassing, urging citizens to boycott聽the Saturday vote,聽highlighting the harm聽they say聽Mr. Saied鈥檚 restrictive system will have on their individual constituencies.
This聽flurry of activity comes 17 months after Mr. Saied assumed emergency powers聽under聽the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic 鈥� in what was then termed a 鈥渃onstitutional coup鈥� 鈥� before he scrapped the constitution altogether and wrote a new one himself.
Blunting聽expressions聽of聽concern over Tunisia鈥檚 rapid backslide聽toward聽dictatorship was the fact that Mr. Saied鈥檚 power grab was widely popular among a public fatigued with political infighting and alleged corruption by political parties.聽Large swaths of the public also have bought into his conspiracy-oriented narrative that political parties and a deep state were聽to blame for Tunisia鈥檚 woes even after he took power.
The president鈥檚聽bitterly divided opponents聽were slow to act聽after the 鈥渃oup,鈥� wary of turning the public against themselves.
Shift in sentiment
But now聽conditions, and the public mood, have changed.
A deepening economic crisis聽is聽on Tunisians鈥� minds, not Mr. Saied鈥檚聽maneuvers, with inflation and chronic food shortages hitting every household.
Supermarket shelves are empty. Citizens rush聽to聽grocery stores to compete for a few bags of sugar, semolina, or a milk carton. Inflation is at a record 9.8%.
Amid聽mounting public debt聽and the聽government鈥檚聽mismanagement of supply chains, Mr. Saied聽has been unable, so far,聽to secure a badly needed International Monetary Fund loan.
On Thursday, the IMF delayed to January聽a聽final decision on a $1.9 billion loan agreed upon with Tunisia.
Civil society groups have been trying to capitalize on聽the聽economic discontent to win back the trust of聽people whose patience with the president is beginning to wear but who had been聽disenchanted聽with political parties鈥� failures to improve living conditions prior to the coup.
鈥淲e won the battle of the street; we showed that the majority of Tunisians are really against the president鈥檚 project,鈥� says Marwan Bahi, a law student and university activist聽attending last聽Saturday鈥檚 preelection protest, 鈥渂ut today a national project is needed to get us rid of this catastrophe.鈥�
Tunisia鈥檚 General Labor Union,聽a聽coalition聽representing 1 million workers聽that聽helped bring down former strongman Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali 11 years ago聽and had been working with Mr. Saied to encourage a return to the 鈥渄emocratic path,鈥澛燾ame out against the elections and聽the president鈥檚聽agenda last week.
鈥淲e no longer accept the current path because of its ambiguity and individual rule, and the unpleasant surprises it lays in store for the fate of the country and democracy,鈥澛爑nion聽secretary-general Noureddine Taboubi said in a Dec. 2 speech to thousands of unionists.
Boycott, delegitimize
The focus of Mr. Saied鈥檚 opponents across the board is to delegitimize聽Saturday鈥檚聽elections and聽the resulting聽parliament.
Tunisian parliament and elections monitor Al Bawsala was one of many independent watchdogs that announced its refusal to monitor and legitimize polls that聽it said would be聽neither free nor fair,聽citing聽the replacement of Independent Electoral Commission officials with聽Saied聽loyalists聽and the聽changing聽of election rules without review.
鈥淎l Bawsala refuses to stand witness to the path to one-man rule and a cartoon parliament,鈥� it said Wednesday.聽
It called on the Tunisian public to 鈥渂oycott the institution of the next parliament and refuse it a veneer of legitimacy,鈥� adding that it 鈥渦rges all citizens, men and women, to resist the path of a consolidating authoritarian regime and attempts to return Tunisia backwards to a pre-revolution dictatorship.鈥�
Yet analysts question whether civil society groups and rights advocates can undo a now-entrenched autocratic state with all the聽democratic institutions聽compromised.
鈥淚 see more of these civil society groups coming together, but at the same time I see these groups becoming weaker and more marginalized,鈥� says Youssef Cherif, director of the Columbia Global Centers-Tunis.
The聽political parties achieved unity,聽he says,聽only after they became聽鈥渋rrelevant and practically nonexistent.鈥�
Unity, but no alternative
Meanwhile, no viable opposition figure has emerged as an alternative to Mr. Saied; Tunisia鈥檚 politicians are mostly deeply unpopular and polarizing among the general public.
鈥淐ivil society groups can come together as one voice, but they are not providing an alternative to Kais Saied, which means he can continue what he is doing and no one can stop him,鈥� says Mr. Cherif. 鈥淢ost of the powers are now in the hands of the president, and the parliament will resemble most Arab parliaments: an echo chamber that cannot change politics or remove the president,鈥� he adds.
鈥淎fter the dissolving of parliament, the passage of a new constitution, and the closure of聽independent institutions, it may be too late for this united rejection,鈥� adds Mr.聽Ghali.
Yet with the memory of the Ben Ali dictatorship fresh in the minds of many, Tunisians vow that their resistance will only increase as Mr. Saied solidifies his one-man rule.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 be quiet today because I have family members who faced injustice and died because of injustice,鈥� Ms.聽Ben Kadim, the student protester, says of the previous regime. 鈥淚 see those things may be repeated again.鈥�
Ahmed Ellali contributed to this report from Tunis.
