President Kaïs Saïed announces that he will seek a new mandate in the next presidential election

An announcement that is not a surprise. Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed, accused of authoritarianism by his detractors, declared on Friday, July 19, that he would seek a new mandate in the election scheduled for October 6. He says he wants “continue the fight in the battle of national liberation”according to a video released by the presidency. Speaking from the Tataouine region in southern Tunisia, he said he was responding to “the sacred call of the homeland”.

Democratically elected in October 2019, Kaïs Saïed has seized all the powers since his coup in July 2021 when, after several months of political deadlock, he dismissed the Prime Minister and froze Parliament before dissolving it. He also had a new Constitution adopted by referendum in the summer of 2022 establishing a new two-chamber system with very limited powers, moving Tunisia from a parliamentary regime to an ultra-presidentialist system.

Since spring 2023, the main opponents have also been imprisoned, including the leader of the conservative Islamist party Ennahdha, Rached Ghannouchi, and the president of the Free Destourian Party, Abir Moussi. Around twenty opponents and personalities, described as “terrorists” by Kaïs Saïed, have also been imprisoned since February, “accused of conspiracy against state security”NGOs, including Amnesty International, have denounced “a politically motivated witch hunt”.