Tunisians vote in second round of parliamentary elections

Tunisia’s president and a volatile decade-long democratic experiment face a significant test as voters cast their ballots in the second round of parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Turnout was just 11% in the first poll last month. Many disgruntled Tunisians turned away and the main opposition Islamist party boycotted it.

Sunday’s run-off vote will be watched in the Arab world. They are seen as a decisive step for President Qais Said to consolidate power, tame his Islamist rivals and win back the lenders and investors he needs to save his teetering economy.

Voters are picking who will replace Saeed in 2021, when he will be suspended in the final parliament led by the later dissolved Islamist party Ennada.

He then rewrote the constitution to give more powers to the president and less to Congress.

Analysts say that since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution sparked the Arab Spring uprisings across the region and created a new democratic political system that Tunisians were once seen as a model, there has been an uptick in conflict between citizens and the political class. We are noticing a growing crisis of trust.

Voting began at 8am (0700 GMT) on Sunday, except in volatile areas near the borders of Algeria and Libya, where authorities have restricted voting times for security reasons.

Turnout, a key sign of the election’s legitimacy, is due to be released on Sunday night, with the election taking place in the days following.

In the first election, 23 candidates fully secured seats in the 161-seat parliament.

In Sunday’s runoff vote, voters are choosing among 262 candidates looking to fill the 131 seats.

There were no candidates running for office in the other seven constituencies. Election officials say these seats will be filled in a special election at a later date.

Said and his supporters argued that his overhaul of Tunisian politics was necessary to end the political deadlock seen exacerbating the economic and social crisis.

The unemployment rate has reached 18%, soaring budget deficits have led to shortages of basic goods, and the International Monetary Fund has frozen negotiations on a long-awaited new loan to the Tunisian government.

Said’s popularity has declined since the 2019 presidential election. This is evident when a video was shared online earlier this month of a surprise visit to a Tunis café while campaigning.