Voting begins for Tunisians abroad as opposition calls for boycott

Tunisian voters living abroad took part in the elections while members of the opposition continued to call for a boycott saying the ballot would lead to a parliament that is stripped of powers and controlled by President Kais Saied.

Observers noted a low turnout in the election, as a three-day voting process was launched yesterday for nationals living abroad.

Ahmed Najib Chebbi, head of the National Salvation Front, called on Tunisians to boycott the elections process because it will lead to a parliament stripped of powers and controlled by Saied.

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“There is an unwillingness to run for elections, and a reluctance to participate in the voting process because it is an illegal election,” Chebbi said in a press conference in the capital.

“The time has come to put an end to the collapse that Tunisia is experiencing,” he said, calling on all civil and political forces to “gather and search for the necessary reforms to end the current crisis and return to constitutional legitimacy and hold new legislative and presidential elections.”

Abdellatif Mekki, head of the Labour and Achievement Party, said Tunisians should not vote because Saied “will turn it into a whip that hits you. Did you not  vote in favour of him in 2019 then see what he did to you and the country?”

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