Tunisia was the only country that formed a lasting democratic government after the wave of Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011. A July 2022 BBC article suggested that Tunisia might be sliding back towards authoritarianism and the EIU democracy index for 2021 reclassified the country as a "hybrid regime" rather than a "flawed democracy". Human rights group Amnesty International noted "a worrying decline in fundamental rights" under Saied's government amidst rising discontent over his perceived authoritarian style of governance.
Earlier this week on Sunday 6 October, President Kais Saied won a second term with more than 90% of the vote in what has been described as Tunisia’s first undemocratic presidential election in almost 14 years.
Since Saied, a former law professor, was elected on a wave of optimism in 2019, the 66-year-old has suspended parliament, rewritten the constitution and concentrated power into his hands. He was widely expected to win a second term after the authorities arrested and jailed dissidents as well as potential rivals.
Here are some examples of how Saied has manipulated the law to secure his own power:
Decree Law 54 was adopted in September 2022, and has since been used it to arrest dozens of political and media figures. The law states that:
“Any person who knowingly uses information and communication systems and networks to produce, spread, disseminate, send, or write false news, false data, rumors, false or falsified documents or falsely attributed to others with the aim of infringing the rights of others or harming public safety or national defense or sowing terror among the population shall be punished by five years of imprisonment and a fine of fifty thousand dinars. The penalties provided for are doubled if the person concerned is a public official or similar.”
Conveniently for Saied, the law does not define “false news” or “rumours,” which means that it is very subjective and at the discretion of the judiciary.
Article 89 of the 2022 Constitution has been used to remove several of Saied’s prominent opponents from contention by raising the age of eligibility, denying eligibility to dual citizens and to people who do not have Tunisian grandparents, and preventing anyone facing legal challenges from running. The Penal Code has been weaponised against several opponents.
Penal Code (Article 67)
“Anyone who, with the exception of cases provided for in Articles 42 and 48 of the Press Code, is guilty of an offense against the Head of State shall be punished by three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of 240 dinars.”
Penal Code (Article 72)
“Any person who attempts to overthrow the government, encourages people to arm themselves against each other, cause disorder, murder and looting in the Tunisian territory, is punishable by death.”
Is there hope for democracy in Tunisia?
Lamine Benghazi, an expert on rule of law and the judiciary at the Washington-based think tank Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, was quoted in March this year as saying:
"The electoral year for Tunisia is deeply marked by fear, repression and the absence of rule of law, given that the electoral body in charge of supervising the election has lost its independence…With independent bodies dismantled, the judiciary's autonomy severely compromised, a significant portion of the political opposition incarcerated or facing legal action and the media subjected to draconian censorship, there are grave concerns that civil society may be the next target in Kais Saied's campaign to dismantle counterpowers."
The Tunisian people may not have had a credible choice at the ballot box on October 6, but it seems that many Tunisians still advocate democracy — thousands took to the streets on September 13 to protest against Saied, chanting slogans like "Out with dictator Saied" and "No fear, no terror, streets belong to the people." The anti-democratic nature of the elections has been called out by multiple groups both domestically and internationally. There were more protests 2 days before the presidential vote. None of it changed the outcome on Sunday. The question that remains is whether the Tunisian people have had enough of a taste of democracy to fight to get it back.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/07/tunisias-president-wins-landslide-second-term-after-cracking-down-on-opponents
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62001426
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9jwxxejkvo
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx25ree1g18o
https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2024/09/tunisia-presidential-election-saied-candidates-jailed?lang=en
https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/tunisia-a-sham-presidential-election/
https://www.dw.com/en/repression-in-tunisia-grows-as-election-looms-nearer/a-68674000
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisians-protest-against-president-saied-two-days-before-presidential-vote-2024-10-04/
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisians-protest-against-president-ahead-election-2024-09-13/
No comments:
Post a Comment