Tunisia’s Crumbling Democracy
Last month Tunisia held its parliamentary elections, the first in three years. But despite the opportunity for Tunisians to elect members of their national parliament, an opportunity not afforded to many in North Africa and the Arab world, the election only saw a turnout of 11%. Frustration at the state of the economy is one of the main factors behind the low turnout, as this recent election has taken place within a wider context of inflation and a price rise of essential commodities. Prior to this election, anger at the government’s mismanagement of the economy has been evident, as the country has been rocked with nationwide protests and trade union strikes within the last 2 years alone.
But more importantly, many were protesting incumbent President Kais Saied’s policies and what many consider to be his shift towards authoritarianism, and for this reason several opposition parties boycotted the election. Such fears are not unfounded, since becoming President in 2019, Saied has introduced far-reaching reforms that have strengthened his powers whilst weakening his opponents. In fact, the election was called because Saied had dismissed Parliament in March 2021, dominated by his rival party Ennahdha and then Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, in a move described as a “coup” by many within Tunisia, which resulted in nationwide protests. Accompanying this suspension was a string of political arrests and arbitrary restrictions on freedoms for many Tunisians, as well as the lifting of parliamentary immunity, further strengthening Saeid’s position.
This move was followed by a controversial referendum to change the country’s 2014 democratic constitution with one that expands Saied’s powers whilst taking power away from other branches of government, which likewise resulted in protests. But despite widespread opposition to the referendum, it passed with over 90% approval by voters, but with a turnout of just 25%. Questions were also raised by civil society groups and NGOs at the time regarding the process of the referendum and its outcome, as well as its potential human rights implications. In addition to this, Saeid has also overseen the extension of Tunisia’s state of emergency, which has been in place since 2015. Under the state of emergency, the Interior Ministry and official authorities have been granted several emergency powers, and accusations of human rights abuses and restrictions on freedoms have been widespread.
Saeid’s power grabs have not gone by unnoticed and have caught the attention of the United States. In response to the 2022 constitutional referendum, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken released a statement voicing concern at attempts to change the democratic constitution and the erosion of democratic norms in the country, whilst Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin similarly raised concerns about the state of democracy in Tunisia and Saeid’s expansion of power. In response to Blinken’s statement, Tunisia’s foreign ministry summoned the US chargé d'affaires to protest Blinken’s comments and what they believed to be interference in their internal affairs. Saeid himself also fired back at accusations of democratic backsliding, blaming “fake news” and “foreign forces” for bringing up these concerns. More generally, Saeid has sought to justify his actions by claiming that they are necessary to tackle corruption in Tunisia, a claim that is largely hollow.
The concept of democracy is relatively new to Tunisia, with the country becoming classified as one following the 2011 Jasmine Revolution. This year saw the overthrow of long-standing dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled Tunisia for over 20 years. Ben Ali’s regime was considered one of the most brutal in North Africa and the Arab world, with numerous accusations of human rights abuses and authoritarian policies. Following his overthrow, a transitional government was installed, and many authoritarian aspects of the regime were dismantled, with the aim of establishing a democracy. These events in Tunisia had a domino effect and kickstarted similar protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa, which had long been ruled by dictators and absolute monarchs. Yet, despite the scale of these protests, none bore the same fruit as Tunisia’s, as they result in new regimes filling the power vacuums, kickstarting civil wars, or they were brutally suppressed, as was seen in countries like Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and others. This chain of events led some to dub Tunisia as being the only “success story” of the Arab Spring, a label that is coming increasingly under question.