On December 10, 2022, demonstrators supporting opposition parties in Tunisia called for a boycott of the parliamentary elections. Hundreds of Tunisians protested against President Kais Saied on Saturday.
Tunisians demonstrate against the president one week before legislative elections
This branded him an undemocratic coup leader with one week until elections for the new parliament he helped construct through constitutional revisions.
Before revising the constitution this year to give the president greater authority, Saied disbanded the last parliament last year and ruled by decree. Most political groups opposed these changes.
Demonstrators walking through Tunis's center shouted, "Said get out!"
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Saied has consistently stated he won't become a dictator and that his actions were morally right and essential to rescuing Tunisia from years of turmoil.
The political gridlock caused by a split parliament and an unsteady government had made Tunisians increasingly furious in recent years.
Elections for a new, weaker parliament established by Saied's constitution, approved by a low-participation referendum in July, will take place on December 17.
Senior politicians from parties opposed to Saied were among the speakers at the demonstration who argued that the election was fraudulent and called for a boycott.
Samira Chaouachi, a deputy speaker in the elected parliament that Saied disbanded, declared that "all the opposition is united on one viewpoint, which is rejecting a coup and advocating for a restoration to democracy."
