Runoffs will be held in the vast majority of Tunisian parliamentary districts after only 21 candidates secured victory in the first round of parliamentary elections, the country’s electoral commission has said, following a controversial vote marked by a very low turnout.
Only 8.8 percent of Tunisian voters cast ballots in Saturday’s parliamentary elections, the country’s electoral commission announced, after most political parties boycotted a vote they view as a charade to shore up President Kais Saied’s power.
Opposition hopes democratic ideals can return in Tunisia
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“The preliminary data of legislative elections show the victory of 21 candidates from the first round … the second round of these elections will include 133 districts,” Mohamed Tlili Mansri, the spokesperson of the electoral commission said on Monday.
He added that the run-off would be held on January 20.
Under the new constitution drafted by Saied and approved by a referendum last July, the new parliament will have very limited powers.
With the main parties absent, a total of 1,058 candidates – only 120 of them women – were running for 161 seats.
For 10 of those – seven in Tunisia and three decided by expatriate voters – there is just one candidate. A further seven of the seats decided by expatriate voters have no candidates running at all.
The election was part of a series of political changes made by Saied after he shut down the previous parliament last year, in a move his critics have called a coup.
But Saied says they were necessary to fight back against what he describes as a “corrupt” political elite.
Source: Aljazeera.com
