Today, Monday, the Higher Authority for Elections in Tunisia announced the results of the legislative elections, and confirmed that a run-off will take place in most constituencies, given the victory of a small number of candidates from the first round, while France joined the United States in calling on the authorities to reform after the unprecedented reluctance to vote.
In a press conference held this evening, the head of the Elections Commission, Farouk Bouaskar, announced that the turnout in the polls amounted to 11.2%, which represents one million and 25 thousand voters out of a total of 9 million and 163 thousand registered in the electoral lists.
The commission had previously reported that the turnout was 8.8%, the lowest in the Tunisian elections since the revolution.
Bouaskar said that the commission detected about 1,800 violations in the legislative elections that took place last Saturday.
Earlier today, a spokesman for the Elections Authority, Muhammad al-Mansari al-Talili, said that the re-run of the legislative elections will take place on January 20, and will include 133 electoral districts out of 161, after only 21 candidates won seats in the new parliament since the first round.
Al-Mansari added that 10 candidates from 10 electoral districts won automatically, since there is only one candidate in each district.
The Carter Center mission said that the framework under which the elections were held in Tunisia lacks (European) legitimacy.
interrupt effect
Meanwhile, the deputy head of the Independent Higher Authority for Elections, Maher al-Jedidi, said that the opposition parties' calls to boycott the parliamentary elections, and the response of their supporters to the call, greatly affected the turnout.
Al-Jadidi also attributed the low turnout to the cancellation of public funding for candidates and the abolition of the candidate’s endorsement requirement, indicating that members of the government committed what he described as a serious mistake after the Ministerial Council adhered to the condition that a candidate obtain 400 recommendations to participate in the legislative elections.
The head of the Elections Commission, Farouk Bouaskar, had previously considered that the low participation rate was due to the "absence of political money." Parties, including the Ennahda Movement, condemned Bouaskar's statements, as did the former head of the Commission, Kamal Jendoubi.
President's legitimacy
Internal reactions continue to the unprecedented aversion of Tunisian voters, and while the opposition parties said that President Kais Saied has lost his legitimacy and pledged to work to remove him, forces loyal to the president called for early presidential elections, and the results unilaterally justified the President of the Republic with the decision.
In the context, the head of the opposition Afaq Tounes party, Fadel Abdel Kafi, called on the Tunisian president to stop what he described as a "farce", to declare an economic emergency government, and to hold early presidential elections.
Abdel Kafi said - in a clip published on the official page of the party - that the message of the Tunisian people was clear after the reluctance of more than 90% to participate, calling on President Said to listen to the message of the people without arrogance, as he put it.
The opposition National Salvation Front - which includes parties, including the Ennahda Movement - considered that the reluctance to participate in the legislative elections undermined Saeed's legitimacy.
The Ennahda movement considered - in a separate statement - that the boycott of more than 90% of the voters to vote means the withdrawal of confidence from Saeed and his system.
While the head of the Free Destourian Party called for declaring the position of the presidency vacant and calling for early presidential elections, the opposition Labor Party said that what it described as the very meager participation rate strips all legitimacy from the entire current system of government, which it described as a coup.
The Republican Party also said that the Tunisian people sent a message of rejection of the course of what it called the coup, and the party called on President Saeed to step down from power, and pave the way for a transitional period.
In turn, the head of the political bureau of the "July 25" movement, which supports Qais Saied, Abd al-Razzaq al-Khalouli, called for early presidential elections.
In the same context, the leader of the People's Movement supporting Saeed, Muhammad al-Musilini, believes that the president's unilateral decision led to these results, as he put it.
For its part, the Carter International Election Observation Center indicated that the low turnout in the Tunisian legislative elections reflects the people's disappointment with the current political and economic situation, and shows that the presidential road map implemented by President Kais Saied did not succeed in unifying the country.
The director of the Carter Center mission in Tunisia, Donald Besson, said that the framework under which the elections were held in Tunisia lacks legitimacy and does not meet international standards, as he put it.
France after America
Internationally, the French Foreign Ministry said - today, Monday - that Paris has learned of the preliminary results of the Tunisian legislative elections and the low level of participation.
The ministry added - in a statement - that France renews its full support for Tunisia and its people regarding the political, economic and social challenges facing the country, and stresses in particular the need to carry out the necessary reforms, without delay, to ensure the country's stability and prosperity in the future.
The French Foreign Ministry stated that France is concerned about the postponement of the examination of the Tunisian file by the Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund, and calls for the resumption of discussions between the Tunisian authorities and the International Monetary Fund, with the aim of reaching a final agreement.
And the US State Department said - yesterday, 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.
It believed that the legislative elections are an essential step towards restoring the country's democratic path.