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Politics Hatem Nafti 05 December 2024

Kais Saied cracks down, cementing second term in office

Kais Saied was reelected as Tunisia’s president in the first round of elections. His Soviet-like score of 90.69% must not obscure record voter abstention rates: more than 7 out of 10 Tunisians—and more than 94% of Tunisian youth—did not turn out to vote. While there is no evidence that massive fraud took place on election day, the entire electoral process was marked by repressive tactics aiming to cement Saied’s second term in office. Recap of the past election year and the crackdown which ensured the outgoing president’s victory at the polls.

Politics Nate Grubman 09 August 2024

The July 25th Path, Democracy, and Dictatorship in Tunisia

Following one of the world’s most dramatic democratic transitions since the early 1990s, Tunisia’s descent into personalist rule has been equally stark. Although Kais Saied’s accumulation of power bears similarities to executive aggrandizement in other parts of the world, Saied’s regime is atypical in other ways that may be telling of the president’s assets and liabilities as he and his opposition navigate the first presidential elections since the coup.

Politics Vanessa Szakal 25 November 2014

Kannou, Tunisia’s sole female presidential candidate and would-be fairytale ending to democratic transition

The symbolism of being the first and only female in the running for president is at once a defining strength and weakness of Kannou’s candidacy. Aside from this factor and given her dynamism in an election that is largely based on personality, Kannou’s lack of specific, pragmatic socio-economic project proposals limits her potential outstanding status amongst her political rivals in this election in spite of what international media might have liked to idealize.

Politics Vanessa Szakal 14 September 2014

Circumventing Political Exclusion – RCD After the Revolution and in the Coming Elections

What Euchi demonstrates in The Disappointment of the Revolution is the falling short of an effective transitional justice process, a degredation of standards since 2011 that has witnessed the successive criminalization of former regime officials to their pardoning, to the concession of their right to engage in politics. Those who were initially seen as “enemies” of the state have gradually come to be recognized as political equals, now rivals now allies as per the momentary needs of political parties vying for electoral ground.

Blogs Yosr Dridi 06 August 2013

Post-Brahmi-Assassination Crisis: a Political, Geopolitical, or Apolitical Solution

From July 25th onwards, socio-political forces have been seeking to transform Tunisia from a post-revolutionary to a “re-revolutionary” country. Complications have risen as “terrorist operations” seem to multiply, not by coincidence. It would be presumptuous to force a final analysis on the situation, since a lot of details remain mysterious; however, let us try to look at the “story” from different angles and perspectives.

Politics La rédaction 19 February 2013

Journal des débats à la Constituante : La décentralisation au cœur du chapitre des collectivités locales

La semaine précédente s’était terminée sur une note tendue à l’ANC avec le départ des élus de l’opposition jeudi 7 février. La semaine du 11 au 16 démarre dans une atmosphère tout aussi délétère. L’opposition a boycotté les séances en réclamant la tenue d’une plénière extraordinaire sur la situation politique. Pendant ce temps, les élus de la majorité ont entamé les débats sur le chapitre des collectivités publiques.

Themes Amnesty International 23 October 2009

Tunisia: Routine muzzling of dissent mars upcoming presidential elections

Next Sunday, 25 October 2009, Tunisia will hold presidential and legislative elections in which it is virtually guaranteed that the incumbent, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who has been in power for the last 22 years and is now opposed by three other candidates, will be re-elected as president. As well, the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party is expected to retain a majority of the seats in the parliament.

Themes Slim Boukhdir 27 March 2009

Tunisian president calls criticism “unbecoming”

During his address to the nation on the anniversary of Tunisia’s independence on March 20, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali did not hesitate to reject critical journalism and the right of journalists to cover corruption or mistakes by the government. As customary, local groups concerned with press freedom, including the Tunisian Observatory for Press Freedom and the Tunisian Journalists’ Syndicate, hesitated