• Maghreb: University professor Kais Saied wins in the first round of the Tunisian presidential elections and discards alliances
  • Maghreb. Duel of 'outsiders' in the second round of the Presidential elections in Tunisia

In the midst of great dissatisfaction with the political class , Tunisians come this Sunday to vote in the second legislative elections since the revolution that ended the dictatorship of Zin el Abidin Ben Ali , in 2011. The gradual loss of prestige of the parties Politicians is the main concern in these elections.

Parliamentary elections are held under the shadow of the presidential elections last September 15, in which two outsiders (Kais Saied, a law professor and Nabil Karui, a tycoon in prison for money laundering) swept the candidates of the big parties in An amazing result. With Tunisia still under shock , the aspirants to sit as deputies in the new chamber do not stop repeating that the system is parliamentary and not presidential and that it is the Assembly that is at the center of the institutional architecture of this small North African republic.

More than eight years after the outbreak of the revolution, the parliament that leaves the polls faces enormous challenges, some of them are rooted in the reasons why Tunisians rose against Ben Ali: bread and dignity. The social and economic landscape contrasts with the bright democratic showcase after an exemplary transition in which the building of a new rule of law has been built with solid foundations . "The transition to democracy and civil and political freedoms has been limited but the economic and social transition has been marginalized," Romdhane Ben Amor, spokesman for the Tunisian Forum on Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), notes to this newspaper. These are the main challenges facing Tunisia:

The black hole of the economy

The purchasing power of Tunisians has been narrowing since 2011 until reaching a loss of 40% today. Combined with high inflation (7%), the devaluation of the dinar (three dinars are exchanged for each euro) and a stagnant growth rate of 1%, is the nightmare of the deputies and the next Government, which must be able to take measures so that the quality of life does not deteriorate further, while complying with the demands of the international bodies that protect the country's weak economy. It will be more difficult to stop the parallel market, which accounts for 40% of the economy, fueled by the conflict in neighboring Libya, and that leads to a level of corruption that touches all instances of the State.

Unemployment

With a rate of 15% - which reaches 30% among young people with a university degree - it is the main source of disenchantment among Tunisians. The labor market has suffered greatly with the war in Libya, where 300,000 Tunisians worked before 2011. The situation in the neighboring country, which has no short and medium term solution, has also impoverished the entire southeast of Tunisia. It is estimated that 630,000 Tunisians are officially unemployed, but that there are another million unemployed "disguised", subjected to fictitious jobs or trapped in precarious jobs. A situation that pushes young people to emigrate to Europe. In addition, there is an ongoing brain drain that is draining the country of its best-prepared youth, with doctors and engineers at the head. According to the College of Tunisian Engineers, some 10,000 have left the country since 2016. The Nawaat media said in April that 45% of the new registered doctors have left for France and Germany. A 2017 European Commission survey revealed that more than half of young Tunisians wanted to leave the country. The situation has not improved since then. "The priority must be to give hope to young people," says Ben Amor.

Regional inequalities

The inequality between regions - with the capital and the coastal areas monopolizing industry and business in the face of the depressed rural areas of the interior - constitutes the embers on which the fire of the revolution rests. "Nothing really has been done in this area: there are the same inequalities as before 2011 and there is no policy to minimize them," confirms Ben Amor. "The most important challenge is the socio-economic one, since Tunisia needs a new development model The State must mobilize funds and promote projects to energize the regions, but first it must be present in them, because right now, it does not even exist, "he adds.

Political tourism and absenteeism

The deputies are the workers who present the most absenteeism in Tunisia, hence a vote of punishment for traditional parties is expected. "During this term there have been parliamentarians with a presence of less than 5% in Parliament. We want to pass a law so that the deputies with a presence of less than 30% cannot present themselves for re-election," denounces EL MUNDO Jalil Esauia, president of the Etakatol party (who was part of the government coalition out of the first elections after the dictatorship, in October 2011). In parallel, another phenomenon has eroded the credibility of the political class: the so-called "parliamentary tourism." Thus the deputies who have changed parties several times are qualified. "Almost half of the deputies elected on a list have changed to another group, with the consequence of making it impossible to govern through a logical and acceptable balance. The goal is to move on to the party that seems most powerful to come to power. Ban the Parliamentary tourism is a good initiative, "analyzes political scientist and Hispanicist Ridha Tlili.

Public services or decrepitude

Education, health and public transport suffer a catastrophic situation. Its employees work in miserable conditions and the best prepared leave. "Health, education and transport are the main problems of citizens. We must review the public financing system, improve health and reform education to adapt education to the labor market," says Esauia. In parallel, the public administration also needs a modernization. According to a study by professors Moktar Lamari, Najah Attig and Samir Trabelsi for the local Kapitalis, the country has 800,000 employees, "of which two thirds are unproductive, which discourages foreign investment and degrades the quality of public services ".

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Tunisia
  • Libya

Maghreb Duel of 'outsiders' in the second round of the Presidential elections in Tunisia

Politics The bases of Compromís 'pass' of the pact with Errejón and 27% vote against

The CUP decides to stand for general elections