Middle East & Africa | One Saied-ed

A farcical election pushes Tunisia towards one-man rule

Voter turnout was lower than the inflation rate

A handout picture provided by the press service of Tunisian presidency shows President Kais Saied casting his ballot at a polling station in the Ennasr district near Tunis on December 17, 2022, during the parliamentary election. (Photo by Tunisian Presidency / AFP) / == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / TUNISIAN PRESIDENCY PRESS SERVICE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS == (Photo by -/Tunisian Presidency/AFP via Getty Images)
A lonely president votes for himselfImage: AFP
|DUBAI

THE LAST time voters in La Goulette, a suburb of the Tunisian capital, had to pick a representative in parliament, it was a complicated choice. No fewer than 56 parties fielded candidates for their district. They had a rather easier time of it in Tunisia’s parliamentary election on December 17th: only one candidate was on the ballot. It is hard to imagine that there was very much suspense in his campaign headquarters as the results came in.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “An election with no voters”

From the December 24th 2022 edition

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