President Kais Saied secured a decisive victory in Tunisia’s election on Monday, consolidating his grip on power after a first term marked by the imprisonment of political opponents and sweeping changes that expanded his authority.
Farouk Bouaskar, head of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), reported a voter turnout of 28.8%, with 2,808,548 ballots cast out of 9,753,217 eligible voters. Saied received 90.7% of the vote, as exit polls had suggested a large lead in the country where the Arab Spring began over a decade ago.
Businessman Ayachi Zammel, his closest rival, won just 7.4% of the vote despite spending most of the campaign in prison for election-related offenses. However, the victory was marred by the historically low turnout, reflecting widespread apathy among the electorate. This marks a significant contrast to previous elections following Tunisia’s 2011 revolution.
Many of Saied’s key opponents have been imprisoned since last year, barring them from running, while lesser-known candidates also faced imprisonment or exclusion. The election was boycotted by opposition parties, who denounced it as a sham in light of Tunisia’s increasingly authoritarian political environment.
Leading up to the election, Tunisia showed little sign of electoral activity apart from an anti-Saied protest on Friday and some celebrations in the capital on Sunday night. Tarek Megerisi, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, remarked that “He will return to office weakened rather than strengthened by these elections.”
Critics of Saied have vowed to continue opposing his leadership. Amri Sofien, a freelance filmmaker, expressed disillusionment, suggesting that “It’s possible that after 20 years our kids will protest on Avenue Habib Bourguiba to demand his removal,” lamenting the lack of hope in the country.
This bleak sentiment contrasts with the optimism of 2011 when Tunisians rallied for “bread, freedom, and dignity,” toppling a longtime president and establishing a multiparty democracy. Tunisia later adopted a new constitution, formed a Truth and Dignity Commission to address past injustices, and saw its civil society win the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering political dialogue.
However, subsequent leadership struggled to address economic challenges, terrorism, and political infighting. Saied, a political outsider, won his first term in 2019 on a platform to combat corruption. In 2021, he declared a state of emergency, dissolved parliament, and revised the constitution to consolidate presidential power—moves widely criticized as a coup.
In 2022, a low-turnout referendum approved the new constitution, further empowering Saied. His government soon cracked down on civil society, and by 2023, several prominent political figures, including Abir Moussi and Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi, were imprisoned. Many faced charges such as inciting unrest and breaching controversial anti-fake news laws aimed at silencing dissent.
The wave of arrests intensified this year, targeting not only politicians but also lawyers, journalists, activists, migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, and the former head of Tunisia’s post-revolution Truth and Dignity Commission.