Summary:

On 13 September 2024, protesters gathered in Tunis to join a large-scale protest organized by the Tunisian Network for Rights and Freedoms. 

The protesters denounced the state of rights and freedoms and demanded an end to the prosecution and detention of politicians, human rights defenders, and journalists. 

The demonstrators chanted slogans depicting President Saied as a dictator who derives his power from a police state. Some demonstrators called for President Saied to resign in a manner similar to that of the 2011 revolution when former President Ben Ali was overthrown.  

The Tunisian Network for Rights and Freedoms was recently founded by left-leaning progressives, many of whom supported President Saied when he seized exceptional powers on 25 July 2021.  

Outlook: 

These protests point to growing political tension in Tunisia in the lead-up to the early October presidential election. The protests appear to be the result of accumulating popular discontent over the repression of political figures and journalists as well as the exclusion of candidates from the election. 

A large section of Tunisians has become increasingly frustrated with the current administration and the Independent Higher Authority for Elections (ISIE), with the latest exclusion of candidates seeming to push many toward political action. 

The protests also challenge the administration’s assertion that it speaks for and represents the Tunisian people, as many citizens showed they are unsatisfied to the point of protesting, even facing the risk of state retaliation. 

Tensions are likely to escalate as the current administration is unlikely to respond receptively to the protesters’ demands, and is instead labeling the protest movement as working against the state security. 

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