TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia opened its polling stations for the runoff in parliamentary elections on Wednesday and saw only 11 percent turnout in the first round of polls last month. Critics of the president’s result said it undermined the president’s claim to public support for the presidential election. Coup.
With political parties boycotting the vote, most candidates are independents and attention may be focused on whether they get more turnout than in December.
“I’m not interested in elections that don’t concern me,” said 40-year-old Nejib Saari, who passed a polling station in Tunis’ Hey Etterill district just before the polls began.
A Reuters journalist said inside the polling station, no voters had turned up for 20 minutes after voting officially began.
President Kais Said has closed the previous parliament in 2021 and decreed a largely powerless new parliament as part of a reconfigured presidential system he introduced after taking over broad control over the state.
Said’s critics have accused him of trying to dismantle the democratic institutions enacted after Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, which sparked the Arab Spring, and December’s extremely low voter turnout is an indication that Said’s changes are being made. He ridiculed it as evidence of his lack of public support.
Only Mongi Layouni, one of seven men sitting at a cafe in Ettahrir drinking coffee, said he might vote.
“I don’t know. I might go later,” he said. Another man sitting in a cafe, who only gave his name as Imad, said he didn’t think his vote mattered after Saeed’s coup.
“Only the president decides everything,” he said. “He doesn’t care about anyone, and we don’t care about him or his election.”
The president said his actions were legitimate and necessary to save Tunisia from years of economic stagnation and political crisis, accusing his critics of treason and urging action against them. bottom.
economic crisis
A worsening economic crisis, which has caused shortages of some food and medicines and has led governments to seek international remedies, is spreading disillusionment with politics.
On Friday, credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded Tunisia’s sovereign debt rating, citing a high probability of default.
In the previous system, Congress took the lead in setting national policy and choosing a government to handle the country’s day-to-day operations. The president was directly responsible for foreign policy and national defense.
Said’s new rule subordinates Congress to the president, who now leads the formation or removal of the government. The rule also reduces the role of political parties, with parliamentary candidates listed by name only, without reference to party affiliation.
Since the December poll, state television has increased interest in Sunday’s run-off vote, including through debates between candidates. Opponents say it’s part of the state’s efforts to boost voter turnout.
Of the 161 constituencies, 131 constituencies where no candidate won a majority of the votes in December will have run-off elections on Sunday. In some constituencies, she was the only candidate running, each elected to a new parliament.
Voting is open from 8am to 6pm (0700 GMT to 1700 GMT).
Reporting by Tarek Amara, written by Angus McDowall.Edited by Toby Chopra
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