Hommam Al Nassim 
Tunisian political forces have called for confronting what they consider President Kais Saied’s “authoritarian project” and finding a democratic alternative to it, after most Tunisians boycotted Sunday’s local council elections.
The Coordination of Progressive Democratic Forces, the Forum of Democratic Forces and the Republican Party welcomed “the rejection by the majority of the Tunisian people of this populist system that is hostile to freedoms and democracy, expressing this by not going to the polls, and ignoring this path as a circumvention of the popular will.”
The aforementioned forces expressed their absolute rejection of “the political system that Saied is trying to pass despite his failure to attract Tunisians, and their readiness to confront and resist his authoritarian populist project.”
called on all political forces in Tunisia to “unite their ranks in order to develop a democratic national alternative with a social content, establishing a civil state that preserves national sovereignty, respects the will of citizens and guarantees (the constitution and the law) rights, freedoms and full equality between citizens.”
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki called on current President Kais Saied to resign after what he called the “election slap”, referring to the modest turnout in the recent local elections.
The head of the electoral authority, Farouk Bouaskar, confirmed that the number of participants in the vote reached one million and 59 thousand voters, which constitutes only 11.66% of the total voters of 9 million and 81 thousand.