The world’s eyes are on Tunisia this week in the lead-up to Sunday’s general elections. The country recognised as the birthplace of the Arab Spring will be electing a parliament for the second time since the January 2011 uprising that unseated president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and reverberated around the region. While much has been made of the relative success of reform in Tunisia, tensions still run deep and this election is vitally important to the country’s future.
Tunisia has seen its share of political violence, but it has also seen a rare consensus among disparate interest groups who see a democratic system with a president and parliament as a goal worth striving for. Indeed, the Islamist Ennahda party, who narrowly gained the upper hand in the October 2011 polls, voluntarily relinquished power in the interests of finding a more representative government.
In the countdown to the polls, however, the question has arisen as to who should be allowed to run for public office. Much to the chagrin of many ordinary Tunisians who suffered under the rule of Mr Ben Ali, several of his former political allies have announced their candidacy. While the reaction is understandable, it may be that some candidates who were associated with the regime, especially those who were at arm’s length from the former president, still have something to offer their country in terms of expertise and experience. That is for the people to decide.
Quite simply, Tunisians should trust the power of the ballot box. The tumultuous events since street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest at local-level corruption, have shown that there is an appetite for change. Everybody should have an interest in free and fair elections – at both next week’s parliamentary elections and next month’s presidential poll – and in forming a government that can tackle the country’s many economic and social problems.
After four interim governments in as many years, Tunisia needs stability for it to move forward. Creating stable institutions and raising the living standards of all Tunisians should be the goal.
