On the footsteps of Algeria, Tunisia stages a ‘one-man show’ election

Since the advent of the Tebboune/Chengriha duo, Algeria had only a sole diplomatic success: vassalizing Tunisia and molding it into its own image of an autocracy with a one-man show election.

Tunisia’s strong man kais Saied has reduced Tunisia into a vassal state acting on orders from Algiers. His regime has even allowed Algerian agents to arrest refugee Slimane Bohafs, a Kabyle independence leader, in 2021.

Saied bowed to Algerian dictates to the extent of breaking decades of Tunisian neutrality on the Sahara issue by receiving the separatists chief Brahim Ghali in a state reception, triggering diplomatic frost with Rabat.

Tunisian populism echoed Algerian conspiracy theories in pinning many self-inflicted economic woes on Israel and the “invisible foreign hand”.

As both Algeria and Tunisia brace for presidential elections in October and September respectively, authoritarian similarities are blatant.

Both Tebboune and Saied disqualified their most credible political opponents using the judiciary to pave the way for their elections.

They restricted civil liberties and the freedom of the press sending independent journalists to jail.

In both Tunisia and Algeria, the incumbent presidents are poised to return to power as they are running against very low- profile candidates of their choosing!

However, assuming free elections, the turnout is expected to be lackluster. While president Saied has come to power on the back of a democratic process he managed to sap, Tebboune has already experienced low turnout nearing zero in the breakaway Kabylie region.