Today, Sunday, the Tunisian Ennahda Movement called on the opposition to agree on a democratic alternative and considered that the unprecedentedly low participation in the legislative elections means a withdrawal of confidence from President Kais Saied, while the United States called on the Tunisian authorities to expand political participation and implement comprehensive reforms.
The Ennahda movement said - in a statement - that the boycott of more than 90% of the more than 9 million Tunisian voters of what it described as the futile path of the current authority means withdrawing confidence from Saied and his regime, and called on the president to step down and make room for presidential elections to get out of the political and economic crisis it is going through. country.
The movement - which had the largest bloc in the dissolved parliament - considered these elections "sham" and devoid of any legitimacy, and called for the cancellation of the second round of legislative elections, which is supposed to be held next spring.
The Ennahda movement renewed its call to all the forces that believe in the revolution to consult to expedite agreement on a democratic alternative, and denounced the accusation of corruption by the head of the Supreme Elections Commission for the previous electoral process.
And after the election commission announced yesterday evening, Saturday, that it recorded a participation rate of 8.8%, which is the weakest in the Tunisian elections since the revolution, there were frequent calls from Tunisian parties and personalities opposed to the departure of the president, considering that the unprecedented aversion of voters undermines the legitimacy of Saeed, whom opposition parties accuse of a coup against the democratic path through The measures he took on July 25, 2021, which included dissolving the government and parliament, and then unilaterally drafting a new constitution.
"Removal of the President"
The head of the opposition National Salvation Front, Ahmed Najib al-Shabi, said on Saturday evening that the front believes that the voter turnout in the elections did not exceed 2%, and that since today President Kais Saied has lost his legitimacy, as he put it.
Al-Shabi confirmed the Front's determination to work to remove the president and hold early presidential elections, and called for a national dialogue and new elections, noting that opponents described the low turnout as an "earthquake."
In other internal reactions, the Free Destourian Party, led by Abeer Moussa, called for announcing the vacancy of the presidency and calling for early presidential elections.
The head of the Political Bureau of the July 25 Movement, Abdel-Razzaq Al-Khalouli, also called for early presidential elections, after the weak participation in Saturday's elections.
As for the Labor Party (far left), it considered that the "very meager" participation rate in the elections strips all legitimacy from the entirety of what it described as the July 25 coup system.
The head of the High Elections Commission, Farouk Bouaskar, described the participation rate in the elections as modest, but said it was not shameful, and attributed this to the change in the voting system and the absence of political money from the electoral campaigns.
He also suggested the possibility of organizing a second round of elections in more than 100 constituencies out of a total of 161 constituencies.
Washington's position
In Washington, the US State Department said today, Sunday, that the low voter turnout in Tunisia reinforces the need to further expand political participation in the coming months.
The US State Department stressed the importance of adopting comprehensive and transparent reforms, including empowering an elected legislature and establishing the Constitutional Court.
The statement said the United States continues to support the Tunisian people's aspirations for a democratic and accountable government that protects freedom of expression and dissent and supports civil society.
The US State Department described the parliamentary elections that took place in Tunisia as an essential step towards restoring the country's democratic path, and urged the Tunisian government to take the necessary steps to address the economic crisis and achieve long-term stability and prosperity.
