Vladimir Putin wants it and the figures prove it: the world is divided in two. Slightly less than half of the inhabitants of the planet live in democracies, the other half within authoritarian regimes or close to being, according to a recent study by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Under these circumstances, can we afford to let a young democracy sink? Especially when this democracy is the only one that emanated from the Arab Spring?
The question arises this week after the holding in Tunisia of a more than questionable constitutional referendum which concentrates the powers in the hands of the president, making him untouchable. A referendum which received the approval of 94.6% of those who voted, of course, but which was shunned by 70% of Tunisian voters.
This popular consultation – not very popular – is the latest twist in an almost complete seizure of the state by the country’s president, Kaïs Saïed. Control that stretched over an entire year.
On July 25, 2021, Mr. Saïed, who is a professor of constitutional law, invoked an article of the country’s Constitution – provided for major emergencies – to arrogate almost all powers to himself. In one day, the president-elect in 2019 fired the prime minister, suspended parliament, fired ministers.
At the time, many Tunisians welcomed this extreme centralization, hoping that a single captain would be able to bring the boat to port.
The country was not doing well at all: Tunisia was experiencing one of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19 on the planet and the economy was on the precipice. Parliament sometimes turned into a rat race.
The democratic ideals of the Arab Spring had given way to deep cynicism, said Zakia Hamda, contacted in Tunis. “A lot of people say to themselves that the revolution has only brought disorder and the right to insult people,” she sighs, convinced for her part that a ton of patience is necessary for a country to master the workings of a democracy.
I met Zakia Hamda during a very special day: that of the departure of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, on January 14, 2011, driven into exile by the streets after 23 years of authoritarian rule.
PHOTO SLIM KACEM, PROVIDED BY ZAKIA HAMDA
Gallery owner before the 2011 revolution that ousted President Zine El Abidine Bel Ali, involved in politics since, Zakia Hamda believes that Tunisian democracy can survive the current president, Kaïs Saïed.
Owner of an art gallery, she agreed to work with me and an Irish journalist during our stay in Tunisia. Together, we covered the aftermath of the revolution. Upheavals of the old regime.
At the time, she did not hide her enthusiasm and her immense hopes. You could feel it vibrating in tune with regained freedoms. All dreams were allowed.
On the line, 11 years later, Zakia Hamda, now 51, says the revolution has completely changed her life. She wanted to take part in the new democracy by going into politics for a left-wing coalition, the Modernist Democratic Pole.
After running for office in 2011, without success, she continued to work behind the scenes. “I spent three years in Parliament, notably as parliamentary secretary [jusqu’à l’adoption de la Constitution de 2014]. It was exhausting, it was clinch,” she says today.
She was there when the country came close to disaster in 2013, there when a quartet of powerful organizations broke the deadlock between the various political parties in 2014, giving Tunisian democracy a second chance. The quartet won the Nobel Peace Prize and Tunisia has a Constitution. Imperfect, but the result of a genuine national dialogue.
Zakia Hamda is now part of the majority of Tunisians who boycotted President Saied’s referendum. At the call of political parties and civil society organizations.
We didn’t want to go and vote because we didn’t want to give legitimacy to this process.
Zakia Hamda
No question of recognizing the results either. The adoption of the new Constitution marks the death warrant of Tunisian democracy by bringing an all-powerful president back to power.
Zakia Hamda hopes that the international community will be able to see clearly into the abuses of the president who believes he is invested with a divine mission and will be able to exert pressure. The United States and the European Union, of course, but also the International Monetary Fund, which the country so badly needs.
The countries of La Francophonie, which are to meet in Djerba in November, will also have a great opportunity to be heard.
“Tunisian democracy is not dead,” says Zakia Hamda. The resistance is there. The spirits are there. It’s summer, we’re going to take a breather, but then we’re going to leave again. I hope it doesn’t take us 23 years this time to reverse it. »