Tunis, Tunisia - Recent

Tunisian President Kais Saied has declared re-election bid as opposition parties continue to boycott polls.

The president said on July 19 that he will seek a new five-year term in the country's presidential election slated for October, while the opposition is continuing to refuse to take part in the vote.

The North African country has been in the grips of a political crisis since 2021, when Saied deposed the government, dissolved the parliament and began ruling by decree.

Once again, the main issues for voters are expected to be the state of the economy, and the high rate of unemployment.

Unemployment has remained at around 16 percent for the past few months, according to the national institute of statistics.
That's too high for many, and if there's not an improvement in the near future, analysts say any new president is going to face resistance, especially from the young and unemployed.

Shotlist:
Tunis, Tunisia - Recent:
1. Various of pedestrians;
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdelbaset Sammari, economist:
"The president launched a necessary movement by fighting against corruption and the chaos which dominated the former parliament, the central bank and Tunisian administration from 2019 to 2023.";
3. Various of traffic, pedestrians, buildings;
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Khalil Laameri, political analyst:
"Of course, Kais Saied is the president of the republic, and a candidate for a second term awaiting many major economic challenges, especially the problem of unemployment that has been prolonged and worsening, but this is not possible in the absence of creating a respectable growth rate in Tunisia.";
5. Various of pedestrians.

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