Tunisia’s strongman president looks set to win another term in office
It helps to put most of your opponents in jail
IN A SENSE, he kept his promises. Five years ago Kais Saied ran for president as an outsider who would overhaul Tunisia’s politics. He has done just that, giving himself powers described by some as a “self-coup” and smothering a nascent democracy. Few Tunisians would say they are better off. Yet on October 6th Mr Saied will stand for re-election in a vote he will surely win.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Democracy delenda est”
Middle East & Africa September 28th 2024
- Hizbullah seems to have miscalculated in its fight with Israel
- The flight from southern Lebanon has been swift
- Iran’s damage-limitation efforts may not go to plan
- Tunisia’s strongman president looks set to win another term in office
- Building an African multinational
- Can shooting some elephants save many others?
From the September 28th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Middle East & Africa
Hamas talks a big game but is in chaos
Look beyond the latest bravado and brutality and it is bitterly split
Iran’s alarming nuclear dash will soon test Donald Trump
There is no plausible civilian use for the enhanced uranium Iran is producing
Syria’s new rulers say they are keen to integrate foreign fighters
Outsiders continue to see them as a threat
Rwanda’s reckless plan to redraw the map of Africa
The fall of Goma could trigger another Congo conflict
Three big lawsuits against Meta in Kenya may have global implications
One was prompted by the murder of an Ethiopian professor
Trump should try to end, not manage, the Middle East’s oldest conflicts
And he should see the region as more than a source of instability and arms deals