(3 minutes read)
Tunisia held the second round of parliamentary elections, amidst the poor turnout in the first leg, which was a mere 11%. The first leg of elections was held in December. Opposition parties boycotted the election. The run-off also met with the same fate as voting was very low.
Tunisia’s parliamentary run-off election held on last Sunday replicated the same result as that of the first leg held in December last year, with a low turnout at booths. It was reported that in the December election, voter participation was as low as 11 %, with the boycott of the main opposition parties. In the second run-off elections held last Sunday, reports suggest that there was no marked improvement in voter turnout.
Early turnout figures released by the electoral commission on Sunday evening showed little improvement. Electoral commission figures indicated a 7.7% turnout by 3 pm, only slightly higher than the 7.2% registered by the same time in December’s vote.
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President Kais Saied’s push to consolidate power, tame Islamist rivals, and win back lenders and investors needed to save the teetering economy is watched sceptically by the voters. Saied suspended the Parliament in 2021 and later dissolved it. Subsequently, the constitution was rewritten to give more power to the president and less to the legislature. Saied and his supporters argued that his overhaul of Tunisian politics was needed to end political deadlock seen as worsening economic and social crises. Unemployment tops 18%, and the soaring budget deficit has led to shortages of staples. The International Monetary Fund had frozen talks on a much-awaited new loan for the Tunisian government.
