Voting began in Tunisia’s presidential election on Sunday, with incumbent President Kais Saied expected to secure an easy victory, as his most vocal critics remain imprisoned.
This election comes three years after Saied’s sweeping power grab, marking what many see as the end of Tunisia’s democratic experiment, which began after the Arab Spring uprisings. Polling opened at 8:00 am and will close at 6:00 pm, with preliminary results expected by Wednesday.
At a polling station in central Tunis, reporters noted mostly older voters in line. The election campaign has been notably subdued, with no major rallies or public debates, and the streets dominated by campaign posters of Saied.
Many Tunisians, especially the youth, have shown little enthusiasm for the election, with some feeling disillusioned by the political process. Saied, who rose to power in 2019 with a landslide victory, has since rewritten the constitution and cracked down on dissent, jailing critics and drawing condemnation from both domestic and international observers.
