Power struggle between parliament and courts undermining faith in Tunisia's upcoming election

MPs passed on Friday a widely criticised bill that strips the Administrative Court of elections oversight

A demonstration against Tunisian President Kais Saied in the capital Tunis. AFP

Power struggles between Tunisia’s parliament and courts risk turning off the electorate, experts and voters say, less than two weeks before the country’s third presidential election since its 2011 uprising.

Tunisia’s parliament voted on Friday with a majority of 116 MPs out of 136 on a bill that seeks to strip the Administrative Court of its power to adjudicate electoral disputes after the court ruled three presidential candidates in the October 6 poll should be reinstated. Only 12 MPs rejected the electoral amendment bill while 8 abstained.

The Court of Appeals, widely viewed as influenced by the government, will be given the powers instead.

The August ruling was roundly ignored by the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), which refused to reinstate Mondher Znaidi, Abdelatif El Mekki and Imed Daimi, who were initially barred from running under accusations they had falsified some of the 10,000 endorsements needed to secure candidacy.

The Administrative Court, an entity which has largely proven immune to influence by the executive, found no evidence to support the accusations and struck down the ISIE's ruling, but the ISIE claimed it did not receive written notice of the court's decision within 48 hours of it being made, a legal requirement. With less than two weeks to go until the election, voters now have the choice of three candidates, including incumbent President Kais Saied.

The court warned that the ISIE’s refusal to implement its decisions could harm the transparency and integrity of the election process, which is already under scrutiny by rights organisations as opposition groups boycott and candidates were barred from running.

Speaking to The National near the Tunisian parliament buildings in Bardo, Mohamed Ali, a member of the opposition National Sovereign bloc said the election process is an unprecedented crisis. He categorically rejects the proposal to strip the Administrative Court of its powers.

“This initiative is very dangerous and a precedent that could alter the course of these elections and lead us to even jeopardise the basic definition of the state and the principle of the rule of law and superiority of the judiciary,” he said.

“We are in the face of a historic challenge that must be deterred by any means, we cannot simply change the rules of the game in the middle.”

The 34 legislators who presented the bill were members of Mr Saied's electoral campaign in 2019. They claim the bill is “inevitable” to bring the conflict between the Administrative Court and ISIE to an end and bring focus back on the election.

“[The situation] alerts us to the beginning of potential crises and an imminent danger that threatens the electoral process and could plunge the country into a maze that would distance us from the concerns of the general public,” the bill's text read.

Mr Ali said the parliament is currently divided over the bill, with some members in the opposition supporting it. “This is a fateful issue and we refuse that the parliament, which has been struggling with a bad reputation, be placed in a corner and contribute to the crisis.”

Youcef Tarchoun, who is the president of the bloc Mr Ali belongs to and one of the MPs who proposed the bill told journalists inside the Tunisian parliament's buildings on Friday that they are not compelled to be confined to a certain time frame when the matter concerns “national sovereignty”.

“We have felt that there is a threat facing our country and we cannot keep quiet,” he said.

If passed, the bill would not impact the continuing elections process or the candidates, Mr Tarchoun says, adding that it would only be referred to in case of contention regarding the results.

Tunisia's democracy was hard won, and protecting the integrity of its elections is considered crucial by those opposing the bill.

In 2011, then President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia after popular, peaceful protests ended his 23-year rule. Democratic elections followed, but failure by successive governments, dominated by the Islamist Ennahda party, to get a handle on the economy has left many people dissatisfied.

Then in 2021, the miss-handling of the Covid-19 pandemic pushed Tunisians to the streets again. Kais Saied then dismissed prime minister Hichem Mechichi and the government.

“They [the regime) were in a game of arm twisting and playing with Tunisians lives, and that was a moment that Saied seized and did what he did with the full support of the state's powerful institutions, namely the military,” Journalist and political analyst Mourad Alala told The National.

“Today within such legal conflicts, we are facing a problem of legality and legitimacy,” Mr Alala said. “Whoever wins could be subjected to questioning and could be challenged”.

Elections apathy

Seventeen candidates originally applied to join the race but only three, Mr Saied, Zouhair Magzhaoui and Ayachi Zammel have been allowed to stand. Aside from those the Administrative Court has called to be reinstated, some did not meet the threshold for endorsements and others were proven to have falsified their endorsements and were prosecuted.

Mr Zammel is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence for electoral crimes, but according to Tunisian electoral law, is allowed to run from prison.

Unlike previous presidential elections after the uprising, where campaign posters would litter walls and leaflets were liberally handed out, the streets of the capital Tunis and many other governorates are almost empty of any sign that a poll is due to take place.

Party adherents are rarely spotted persuading voters to vote for their candidate, and lists detailing what each of the runners is standing for are difficult to find. Some blame a culture of fear created by an increasing crackdown by Mr Saied's regime on political opponents and critics. Lawyers, journalist and many civilians have been jailed in the past few months for critical comments as simple as a Facebook post or an Instagram story.

“Do you call this a good atmosphere? Whoever speaks up, gets his head cut and is placed behind bars, [Mr Saied's regime] has divided us that’s all what they were successful at,” a merchant in the Tunis old medina told The National.

“Before this, we used to have debates on TV and people could freely share what they thought about the situation,” he said.

“People are scared and self- censoring themselves because of the actions of incumbent president Kais Saied,” 27 year old activist and protester Manel Lassoued told The National.

“After July 25 the image was not that clear because of the blockade that was happening but little by little with the targeting of freedoms, increasing oppression and socio-economic rights.”

Ms Lassoued, who was 13 when the 2011 uprising happened, says that the current political atmosphere of fear is very unfamiliar to her.

“For me, I did not live at the time of authoritarianism or witness people talking in low voices, there is a great shift that makes me very frustrated.”

“A political event as important as the presidential elections has turned into a legal battle between the state’s institutions, which created a division within the political scene and could lead to another low turnout,” Mr Alala said.

A perceived lack of options for the public to choose from adds to the potential apathy, Mr Alala said. “We might face a turnout as low as the ones we have seen during the recent legislative elections and constitutional referendum.”

In 2022, 30 per cent of those eligible voted on a new constitution for the country while only 11 per cent voted in 2023's parliamentary election.

For regular Tunisians like Hamida, socio-economic factors are the leading cause to why they no longer find interest in major political events like presidential elections and certainly why they cannot trust any candidate enough to support.

“Every time night time passes and daylight comes I feel scared,” she told The National at a tiny fast food restaurant located in Rue De Marseille street in the capital Tunis.

“I cannot vote for anyone, we can no longer find decent jobs and no one cares about the poor,” she added.

“Tunisia is not liveable, I wish they would just give us our paper for us to leave all this behind and leave.”

Not everyone feels Mr Saied is to blame for Tunisia's current political stagnation. Kais Trabelsi, a government employee who works at the National Organisation for the Defence of Consumers, says Mr Saied is acting honestly, even if the result aren't always right.

“The president has nothing to do with the [overall problems], every time he tries to do something and attempts to make changes in all sectors, things suddenly turn bad,” he said.

But despite Mr Trabelsi’s support for Mr Saied, he still agrees that some things need to change in the way he is leading the country.

“His only problem is that he is stubborn, if he just could involve more people in the decision-making process,” he said.

“His hands are clean and he is honest in everything he does, there is no doubt in that, but he should certainly include others.”

Tunisia is facing deep political challenges, however, many still believe that change is possible regardless of what these presidential elections might bring.

“Our [democratic) experience is the most capable and worthy of success … and because we have this reformative history of progressive institutions, there cannot be any room for radicalism and there is still some hope,” Mr Alala said.