Tunisia Opposition Coalition Calls for President’s Resignation After 8.8% Voter Turnout

A coalition of opposition parties in Tunisia has called for the immediate resignation of President Kais Saied a day after parliamentary elections in which voter turnout is reported to be 8.8%. The leader of the Salvation Front coalition called Saied an “Illegitimate president” and called the election a “fiasco.” Most of the country’s political parties had announced that they would boycott the election, called at Saied’s direction. In July 2021, Saied declared a state of emergency, dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and ruled by decree until a new constitution was approved five months ago, that concentrated power in the hands of the president, meaning that the parliament will have far fewer powers than in the past. Most of the 1,058 candidates for the 161-member parliament, are independent and do not belong to any of the country’s political parties. Tunisia transformed into a country with democratic rule as a result of the 2011 Arab Spring, until Saied launched what was considered a “coup” by his opponents.