Little-Contest Tunisia Vote Dashes Hope in Cradle of Arab Spring
- President Kais Saied near-certain to win in low-key election
- African nation is anti-migration partner for Italy’s Meloni
Poll clerks prepare a polling station in Ariana near Tunis, a day before the presidential election, on Oct. 5.
Photographer: Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images
Tunisians vote Sunday in an election that will likely be the death knell of the Arab Spring born in the North African country more than a decade ago, and cement a partnership with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni that’s caused illicit migration to Europe to plummet.
President Kais Saied has spent five years consolidating power and is accused of crushing the opposition, jailing critics and demonizing Black migrants — all while enjoying the support of Meloni and other anti-immigration European leaders. His near-certain victory may signal more economic hardship for ordinary Tunisians already struggling with rampant unemployment, frequent food shortages and high living costs, but advance the European Union’s migration goals in North Africa.