Tunisia’s President Saied might be re-elected despite a tumultuous first term and a flagging economy

DATE OF ELECTION

Fall

TYPE OF ELECTION

Presidential

WHO’S RUNNING

Though he has yet to announce plans to run for a second term, Tunisian President Kais Saied is up for reelection after a tumultuous first term. Saied ran in 2019 on a populist, anti-corruption platform that energized Tunisians disillusioned with party politics and economic stagnation. Throughout his tenure, he has reversed some of Tunisia’s democratic gains -- rewriting the country’s constitution to consolidate his own power and jailing critics, including from the country’s largest political parties. With leaders of the Islamist party Ennahda and the right-wing Free Destourian Party imprisoned, few have stepped forward to challenge Saied. Former Tunisair CEO Olfa Hamdi, a longshot candidate, announced her candidacy in November.

WHY IT MATTERS TO THE WORLD

The election will mark the next chapter for the country known as the birthplace of last decade’s Arab Spring. Tunisia not long ago was hailed as a counterpoint to countries like Egypt and Syria -- a rare place where protestors toppled an autocratic leader in 2011 and transitioned to democracy afterward. Its most politically powerful civil society groups won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for brokering compromises. But ongoing economic woes and Saied’s recent power grabs have provoked disillusionment among some and outrage among others. The 2024 election could be voters’ first time to evaluate Saied’s tenure and decide whether his controversial moves fulfill his 2019 campaign promises.

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