Tunisian election: Saied remains president
According to preliminary results, Tunisia's authoritarian President Kais Saied has been re-elected with 90.7 percent of the vote. The voter turnout was only 29 percent, however. Opposition parties had called on Tunisians to boycott the election because only two opposition candidates were allowed to run. Commentators criticise Europe's stance vis-à-vis the developments in Tunisia.
Distancing itself from the EU
Saied could lead Tunisia into the autocratic camp, T24 warns:
“What we have here is a leader whose behaviour is difficult to analyse and who portrays all opposition figures as conspirators and corrupt. Even if cooperation with the EU is obligatory, this authoritarian leader makes no bones about his concerns about 'interference in internal affairs', and gets by as best he can with generous aid from Algeria. Those who view relations with the EU in terms of threats or the undermining of national sovereignty will invariably steer their country in the direction of Russia and China. Who knows, we may soon read in the media that Tunisia has applied for Brics membership.”
An absence of outrage in Europe
In Alternatives économiques, political scientist and sociologist Jean-François Bayart is highly critical:
“Europe has not expressed any outrage at the fact that an increasing number of political activists, journalists, association leaders and even main opposition leaders and democratic leaders are being imprisoned. ... The organisation of a presidential election on 6 October, with no genuine opposition candidates and no independent body to monitor its democratic nature, also failed to raise any eyebrows. Europe is not only condoning the restoration of the authoritarian system in Tunisia, it is also financing it with 150 million euros in budgetary aid and 105 million euros for border controls. And that is the crux of the matter.”
End this short-sighted North Africa policy
The taz criticises Saied's repressive actions and calls on the EU to intervene:
“Brussels and Berlin have supported the civil rights activists for ten years, but now they are abandoning them, among other things because Europe is displeased with Tunisia's position on the war in Gaza. ... The EU Commission's obscure migration deal with Tunisia and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's close partnership with Saied are a further betrayal of Europe's own values. And politically short-sighted. ... The re-election of Kais Saied should be a wake-up call for Berlin and Brussels to finally adopt a North Africa strategy that is based not on self-interest but on equality. Defending civil society, which fears for its freedom, would be a first step.”
Keeping silent because of the migration deal
Respect for civil society's freedoms is not a priority for the EU, El País observes with concern:
“Tunisia, which after the Arab Spring in 2011 was considered one of the few examples of democratic success, has now confirmed its regression in the area of civil rights with these elections. ... The EU has already expressed its concern but is avoiding more pointed criticism for fear of jeopardising the migration deal. ... The number of migrants on the Italian coast has dropped drastically. ... Tunisia is the model that Brussels wants to export to other African countries. It would be good if respecting freedoms were also a priority for the EU.”