INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
With his major opponents imprisoned or left off the ballot, Tunisian President Kais Saied faces few obstacles to winning reelection on
in the Arab Spring uprisings that also overthrew leaders in Egypt, Libya and Yemen.International observers praised the previous two contests
as meeting democratic norms
As coups, counter-revolutions and civil wars convulsed the region, the North African nation enshrined a new democratic constitution and saw
its leading civil society groups win the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering political compromise.But its new leaders were unable to buoy its
struggling economy and were plagued by political infighting and episodes of violence and terrorism.Amid that backdrop, Saied, then 61 and a
political outsider, won his first term in 2019
supporters appear to have remained loyal to him and his promise to transform Tunisia
leading opposition parties, who called them a coup
charging them with endangering state security and violating a controversial anti-fake news law that observers argue stifles dissent.Fewer
voters turned out to participate in parliamentary and local elections in 2022 and 2023 amid economic woes and widespread political
supported by politicians not boycotting the race
During the campaign, he has been sentenced to prison time in four voter fraud cases related to signatures his team gathered to qualify for
the ballot.Others had hoped to run but were prevented
The election authority, known as ISIE, last month dismissed a court ruling ordering it to reinstate three additional challengers.With many
Islamists and speaking nostalgically for pre-Arab Spring Tunisia
The 49-year-old president of the Free Destourian Party also was imprisoned last year after criticizing Saied.Other less known politicians
who announced plans to run have also since been jailed or sentenced on similar charges.Opposition groups have called to boycott the race
young Tunisians hit particularly hard.Growth has been slow since the COVID-19 pandemic and Tunisia has remained reliant on multilateral
lenders such as the World Bank and the European Union
Today, Tunisia owes them more than $9 billion
bailout package offered by the International Monetary Fund in 2022
Saied has been unwilling to accept its conditions, which include restructuring indebted state-owned companies and cutting public wages
rely on their low costs.Economic analysts say that foreign and local investors are reluctant to invest in Tunisia due to continued political
From 2019 to 2023, an increasing number of Tunisians attempted to migrate to Europe without authorization
themselves stuck in Tunisia while trying to reach Europe.Saied energized his supporters in early 2023 by accusing migrants of violence and
The anti-migrant rhetoric prompted extreme violence against migrants and a crackdown from authorities
Last year, security forces targeted migrant communities from the coast to the capital with a series of arrests, deportation to the desert
Tunisians and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa manage only to make it a few nautical miles before sinking.What does it mean overseas?Tunisia
visa requirements and in May announced plans to boost trade ties
