Kais Saied

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied did not win any brownie points when he announced October 6 as the date for the presidential election. The election is due in November.

He won the 2019 election on a mandate of popular anger against corrupt politicians and an economic crisis. The constitutional lawyer dismissed parliament in 2021 and replaced it with a regime of presidential decrees, and a ruthless suppression of politicians. Saied has set himself up as the man who wants to sweep away the corrupt politicians. But vocal sections of the people of Tunisia refused to accept the tough regime of the president as an alternative to a corrupt system. They have fiercely expressed their opposition to the arrest of political leaders of major parties, of lawyers and journalists, silencing the entire opposition who did not approve his demolition of democratic institutions, parliament and opposition, dissenting lawyers and critical journalists.

Two of the major opposition leaders, Speaker of Parliament Rached Ghannouchi of the Muslim Democratic Ennahdha Party and Ghannouchi’s rival Abir Moussi.

In May, the lawyers came out on the streets of Tunis to protest against the arrest of two of their own, Sonia Dahmani and Mehdi Zagrouba. And journalists came out in protest when two of their colleagues, broadcaster Borhen Bsaies and political commentator Mourad Zeghidi were sentenced to one year in prison under a new decree which made it punishable if the government found that there was false news, the journalists were punishable. Of course, what the government did not like was false and therefore punishable. The anger of the influential, educated sections of society is boiling over. Zeghidi’s lawyer Kamel Massoud said, “When politics enters the courtroom, justice leaves.”

Romdhane Ben Amor of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) said, “The regime’s machinery is operating very efficiently, meaning it devours anyone who has a critical perspective on the situation…lawyers, journalists, bloggers, citizens or associations.”

Kais Saied has been unyielding in his belief that he has to get rid of the existing system and those who operate it to make Tunisia a better place, free of corruption. Despite constant criticism and protests from the liberal and progressive sections of Tunisia, he demolished the democratic system that came into existence after the Arab Spring of 2011.

Tunisia was the first country where rebellion broke and spread to Egypt, Syria and Libya. The political journey of Tunisia since 2011 has been stormy, and people are indeed angry with the politicians.

But their anger was also due to the deteriorating economic situation. It was economic distress that was the trigger for the 2011 upheaval against the entrenched regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Saied is forcefully destroying the political structures because they are the easiest to overthrow, but he has been ineffective, and even helpless, in the face of deepening economic crisis.

The United States and the European Union (EU) are condemning in polite terms Saied’s crackdown on his opponents, but they are not willing to do anything more. Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had visited Tunisia several times and met Saied. She wants the Tunisian president to stop the outflow of migrants from Tunisia and other parts of north Africa into Europe. The European leaders feel that it is worth supporting a tough ruler in this North African country to protect Europe from immigrants.

Generally, the Western countries should have threatened economic sanctions against Tunisia for violation of democratic and human rights. But the silence of West has been deafening. There is a however a fierce spirit of protest among the middle class Tunisians. And as Saied fails to control the failing economy, the poor, who count for 4 million in a country of 12 million, will turn against the government too.