Elizia Volkmann

Op­po­si­tion wor­ried what Pres­i­dent Kais Saied’s next step will be with a num­ber of op­po­si­tion fig­ures in prison.

The crack­down on op­po­nents of Pres­i­dent Saied has sparked in­ter­na­tion­al crit­i­cism and fears of a re­turn to au­toc­ra­cy.

The pres­i­dent has tried to look abroad to get the coun­try out of its eco­nom­ic cri­sis, with­out much suc­cess.

Op­po­si­tion par­ties say the only way for­ward for Tunisia is to get out of Pres­i­dent Kais Saied’s sys­tem of one-man rule.

Less than 9 per­cent of vot­ers turned up to cast their bal­lot amid an op­po­si­tion boy­cott of par­lia­men­tary elec­tions.

Pres­i­dent Saied has tried to drum up sup­port, but the op­po­si­tion is boy­cotting polls and turnout is ex­pect­ed to be low.

Pres­i­dent Saied’s rule changes have been met with anger from the op­po­si­tion and ap­a­thy from much of the pub­lic.

As over­seas vot­ing be­gins, vot­er ap­a­thy is pal­pa­ble and begs the ques­tion if the spir­it of democ­ra­cy in Tunisia is dead.

Food short­ages have been on­go­ing for months in Tunisia, an­oth­er sign of the coun­try’s eco­nom­ic cri­sis.

Tunisian Unit­ed Net­work says high-rank­ing of­fi­cials have com­mit­ted crimes that could lead to sanc­tions.