Tunisians Vote in Election Amid Economic Woes

Date: 15 September 2019 - 22:15

News ID: ۷۰۴۸۷

TUNIS (Dispatches) -- Tunisians lined up to choose from a diverse field of candidates on Sunday, in an unpredictable election for a new president at a time of economic pain.
With no overwhelming frontrunner among the 26 candidates whose names appear on the ballot, the difference between losing and making a second-round runoff between the two with most votes could prove narrow.
Tunisia threw off autocratic rule eight years ago in a revolution that inspired "Arab Spring” revolts in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya.
However, a perceived decline in living standards since the 2011 uprising, with higher unemployment and inflation, has frustrated many voters and turnout for local elections last year was only 34%.
Heavily indebted, Tunisia’s next government, like its last, will have to navigate popular demands to relax public purse strings while foreign lenders push for spending cuts.
Many voters are disillusioned. In the poor Ettadamen district, Mouaz Chneifiya, a 42-year-old unemployed man, was sitting in a cafe and said he would not vote.
"Since the election we’ve been getting promises and nothing is done on the ground, so why vote? The elections will end and the promises will be dropped as soon as they get into office like in past elections,” he told Rueters.
While foreign attention, especially in Arab countries, is focused on the moderate Ennahda party, Tunisians have been engrossed by the fate of media mogul Nabil Karoui, running from behind bars.
A court on Friday ruled he must stay in detention after his arrest last month on suspicion of money laundering and tax evasion, which he denies. His supporters say he has been silenced.
Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, as well as two former prime ministers, a former president and the defense minister are also standing. Two of the 26 candidates have withdrawn in recent days to support a rival, though their names still appear on the ballots.
With so many in the race, Sunday’s vote could produce a very close outcome, with few votes separating the two candidates who make the second-round run-off, due by Oct. 13, from the others.
The election was brought forward after the death in July of the incumbent Beji Caid Essebsi.
Analysts have warned that a close outcome, with several candidates near the cut-off point to make the second round, could make appeals likely.