Tunisia’s president blames parliament for 11% turnout in elections
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Raven Ruma
- . January 31, 2023
- . Update: January 31, 2023 3:02 pm
The President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, said that hatred among parliament voters resulted in ultra-low turnout in parliamentary elections. Only 11% of the electorate voted in Tunisia’s parliamentary runoffs.
Tunisia’s president reportedly said, “90 per cent did not vote…This confirms that Tunisians no longer trust this institution.” He also held a meeting with prime minister Najla Bouden after a low turnout in parliamentary elections.
The electoral commission of Tunisia also said that only 11.4 per cent of the electorate voted on Sunday in parliamentary runoffs. Subsequently, the opposition parties asked Saied to resign from his post. Critics of Saied also said that the low turnout in the election was evidence of public disdain for his agenda and seizure of powers. Saied rejected their accusations. He also called his critics “traitors.” He reportedly said, “Our popularity is greater than theirs.”
Reportedly, around 887,000 voters voted in the election from a total electorate of 7.8 million. The main parties also boycotted the vote.
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In 2021, Saied sacked the government, froze parliament and dissolved it. He also pushed for a new constitution, which granted him unlimited powers. Opposition groups accused Saied of a coup when he dissolved the parliament. They said that Saied trashed the democracy built after Tunisia’s 2011 revolution. Tunisia’s main opposition party, the Islamist Ennahda, rejected Saied’s move to dissolve parliament and call for early elections. However, the Free Constitutional Party urged Saied to call early elections in the country. Since then, opposition political parties and civil society groups continue to reject Saied’s power.
The economic decline in Tunisia has also angered many political leaders and citizens. Last year, the economy minister, Samir Saeed, said that Tunisia would face a difficult year if the inflation rate exceeded 10 per cent. The standoff between the president and parliament also affected the country.
