The major coalition of Tunisian opposition parties, the National Salvation Front, has said that it will be boycotting the country’s December 17th election.
The parliamentary election follows President Kais Saied’s dissolution of the parliament in July 2021.
At that time, the political party Ennahda enjoyed a majority in parliament. Ennahda is now part of the National Salvation Front.
The upcoming election follows President Saied’s approval of a new constitution, which was ratified after a referendum, with over 90% of votes in favor, and which the opposition rejected.
The coming election will take place in the context of a new electoral law, whose adoption the head of the National Salvation Front, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, described as a coup against the country’s constitutional legitimacy.
It remains to be seen whether this boycott will hurt the presidency going forward, or allow it to consolidate itself.