CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th December, 2022) Tunisian President Kais Saied lauded the Saturday parliamentary election in the country as a "historic opportunity for change."
The North African nation opened polls for the legislative election, first since the new constitution was adopted by referendum on July 25, on Saturday morning, which has been boycotted by the opposition parties.
"The future parliament must pass laws that express the aspirations of the people... This election is a historic opportunity for change that should not be wasted," Saied told a Tunisian broadcaster at a polling place.
A total of 9.2 million registered citizens are eligible to cast their votes, with 1,058 candidates, mostly nonpartisan, running for 161 seats. According to Tunisian media, an overwhelming majority of would-be lawmakers support the president's political course.
Earlier this year, a number of opposition parties, including the National Salvation Front, a major coalition of parties and movements opposing Saied's policies, announced that they would boycott the election. They accuse the president of passing decrees based on his "personal preferences" and argue that the parliamentary vote would be "another step toward despotism and erosion of democratic efforts."
The opposition also boycotted the referendum on amendments to the country's constitution that took place in July. According to the election commission, 94.6% of the voters were in favor of the amendments, with a turnout of just 27% out of 9 million Tunisians eligible to vote.
Saied's critics, including both moderate Islamists from the once de facto ruling Ennahda Movement and trade union leaders, argue that the new constitution backtracks on all democratic progress made since the 2010 ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled the country for over 20 years. The amended constitution concentrated power in the hands of the head of state compared to the 2014 constitution.
Under the amended constitution, Tunisia ceased to be a semi-presidential republic, and the head of state now single-handedly appoints the cabinet and judges. The referendum came a year after Saied imposed emergency measures in Tunisia that changed the political balance that had been in place since 2014.
In late July 2021, the Tunisian leader suspended the parliament and dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi after anti-government protests. In March 2022, he dissolved parliament, stating that this was done "to preserve the state and its institutions."
According to the Tunisian Election Commission, the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections will be announced from December 18-20.
