It is just August, however Tunisians already know what selection awaits them within the presidential elections in October.
Earlier this week, the nation’s electoral fee dominated that out of 17 candidates who submitted their names to run, solely three had been permitted, together with President Kais Saied.
His two rivals are Zouhair Magzhaoui, who beforehand supported the president, and the lesser-known Ayachi Zammel, chief of the Azimoun celebration.
Expectations for each are restricted.
However for critics and human rights teams, the upcoming elections are accelerating the tempo of Tunisia’s authoritarian drift, as increasingly more potential presidential candidates have been arrested, prosecuted and barred from working.
Cleansing the sector
Final week, a Tunisian courtroom sentenced 4 potential presidential candidates to jail: politician Abdel Latif Mekki, activist and media character Nizar Chaari, decide Mourad Massoudi and one other candidate, Adel Dou, on fees of vote-buying.
A month earlier, opposition candidate Lotfi Mraihi of the Republican Union Social gathering was jailed after being convicted of cash laundering, becoming a member of a rising listing of celebration activists and leaders from throughout the political spectrum languishing in jail, from Abir Moussi, a staunch supporter of former chief Zein El Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted in a 2011 revolution, to his nemeses from the “Muslim Democratic” Ennahdha celebration, comparable to former parliament speaker Rached Ghannouchi.
Moussi was sentenced to 2 years in jail two days after saying her presidential bid earlier this month.
“The Tunisian authorities’ disrespect for human rights and their repression of opponents should cease,” human rights group Amnesty Worldwide mentioned in early July.
“From arbitrary arrests of journalists, legal professionals, activists and significant politicians to the systematic undermining of judicial independence, the authorities should reverse this repressive path to place human rights on the centre of governance.”
Regardless of having served just one time period, the size of my tenure as former regulation professor, Saied, has been dramatic.
Capitalizing on widespread discontent with the earlier authorities, he used his standing as a political outsider to push by way of a brand new structure that gave him extra energy, oversee the election of a brand new parliament subordinate to him, hamper the independence of the judiciary and instigate the widespread arrest of his opponents — all whereas finishing up a racially-targeted crackdown on 1000’s of black refugees and migrants in Tunisia.
“Saied has at all times resorted to repression, however it’s positively accelerating as we method the elections,” mentioned Tunisian essayist Hatem Nafti from Paris, the place he now lives.
“It is not likely that he is frightened about shedding,” he mentioned of the president, who stays comparatively common in Tunisia, “it is that neither he nor his allies within the judiciary and safety providers can actually stand being publicly challenged.”
The end result, in accordance with Nafti, has been the creation of branches of the state whose management operates to this point outdoors their sphere of competence that their political and authorized survival has come to rely upon that of the president.
“This isn’t the identical as below Ben Ali,” Nafti continued. “Again then, these features have been a part of a system. Now, they rely upon one particular person remaining in energy or his supporters threat going to jail.”
Authoritarian drift
In response to analysts on the Washington-based NGO Freedom Home, the decline in political freedom below Saied’s authorities has been dramatic.
“Since President Saied took energy in July 2021, Tunisia’s Freedom within the World rating has fallen by 20 factors and the nation has moved from the Free to the Partly Free class in our international rankings,” mentioned Cathryn Grothe, Freedom Home analysis analyst for the Center East and North Africa. “Tunisia has seen one of many largest rating declines globally over the previous 5 years.”
Particularly, Freedom Home highlighted the deterioration of civil liberties in Tunisia, specifically measures to restrict freedom of expression within the nation, together with the introduction of Decree 54, which criminalizes the dissemination of data the federal government deems false.
To date, the decree has been used towards Moussi, after he criticised the nation’s electoral authorities, and towards lawyer Sonia Dahmani, for a sarcastic remark she made throughout a televised debate.
The laws has disproportionately affected Tunisian journalists and on-line critics. In response to the Nationwide Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, greater than 39 lawsuits have been filed towards journalists, critics and social media customers since Could 2023.
Along with prosecution below Decree 54, authorities have additionally relied on the nation’s 2015 anti-terrorism regulation, which was extensively criticized by human rights teams when it was launched.
The end result has been chilling. A report printed by Human Rights Watch (HRW) earlier this week referred to the “hollowing out” of Tunisia’s media panorama, during which political protection and debate programmes that when held the federal government to a sure diploma of accountability have been changed by leisure and way of life programmes.
“The Tunisian authorities’ harsh crackdown on journalists has actually left no room for something apart from official narratives on the airwaves,” mentioned Bassam Khawaja, deputy director of HRW’s Center East and North Africa Division.
“Tunisians ought to profit from vigorous debate and unbiased views forward of elections, however as an alternative they’re met with press censorship and intimidation.”
Public accountability of the federal government is negligible and what little stays is below risk. In July, a authorized consultant of the web platform Nawaat was summoned by the police for questioning, whereas in Could one of many founders of one other platform, Inkyfada, was arrested and jailed.
Inside Nawaat, the sensation of resignation is palpable.
“We don’t consider this could possibly be the start of a marketing campaign towards Nawaat, as assaults towards us have by no means stopped,” mentioned editor-in-chief Aymen Rezgui, occurring to element Nawaat’s common clashes with Tunisian authorities.
“To not point out the cyber assaults towards our web site or the smear campaigns and lynchings on social media orchestrated by supporters of the regime.”
Regardless of the extra repressive setting, nonetheless, Nawaat employees should not eager on altering course. “Regardless of the circumstances, Nawaat is not going to change its editorial line and can by no means stop to play the position of a driving drive for unbiased various media,” Rezgui mentioned.
“Working from Tunisia or overseas is only a element,” Rezgui added. “Crucial factor is to proceed fulfilling our journalistic responsibility as a result of the Tunisian folks, [and] Tunisia wants it.”
