By Canadian Press

Tunisia’s President Saied wins second term after cracking down on the opposition

Oct 7, 2024 | 12:38 PM

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s President Kais Saied won re-election in a landslide victory after a campaign season that saw his opponents jailed alongside journalists, activists and attorneys.

The North African country’s Independent High Authority for Elections said Monday evening that Saied had won 90.7% of the vote — a reflection of how his supporters participated in Sunday’s race while the majority of his detractors chose to boycott.

His closest challenger, businessman Ayachi Zammel, won 7.4% of the vote after sitting in prison for the majority of campaign season facing multiple prison sentences for election-related crimes.

The election was Tunisia’s third since the 2011 Arab Spring, when protests for “bread, freedom and dignity” led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

In the years that followed, Tunisia enshrined a new constitution and created a multiparty democracy. However, Saied began dismantling the country’s new institutions two years after taking office. In July 2021, he declared a state of emergency, suspended parliament and rewrote the constitutiuon to consolidate the power of the presidency.

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Bouazza Ben Bouazza And Annie Risemberg, The Associated Press