Tunisia: Pro-Saied camp calls for high turnout in Saturday's election

The July 25 Movement, which supports Tunisian President Kais Saied, called on voters to participate in the early legislative elections scheduled for Saturday in large numbers.

During a press conference in Tunis four days before the elections, Fathi Al-Hakimi, the general coordinator of the movement, said: “We called on Tunisians to intensely participate in the elections on December 17 to choose who will represent them in the new parliament.”

“We seek to make the electoral process a success and give an impression to the world that Tunisia is a democratic country, despite the demonisation and the statements issued by those injured on July 25, those who were toppled after the people revolted against them.”

Tunisia’s president Kais Saied is bleeding the country – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

On 25 July 2021 Saied imposed exceptional measures including dismissing the government and appointing a new one, dissolving the Supreme Judicial Council and parliament, issuing legislation through presidential decrees and setting an early date for the legislative elections.

A large number of Tunisian parties consider these measures a “consolidation of absolute individual rule,” fearing Saied is returning the country to its dictatorial past, while others see these steps as a “correction of the course of the 2011 revolution”, which overthrew former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

“It is a democratic game, so let the competitors compete, but the only option for Tunisia is to move towards building an electoral process that will culminate in a parliament with a legislative function,” said Al-Hakimi.

Some 1,058 candidates are competing for the 161 seats in the House of Representatives, they include 120 women.

Twelve Tunisian parties are boycotting the elections, including the Ennahda Movement, Heart of Tunisia, the Democratic Current, the Dignity Coalition, the Free Destourian Party and Afek Tounes, among others.

READ: Tunisia parties call for protests on 10 December