Democracy campaigners criticise Tunisian president who is expected to win election

Polls have closed in Tunisia's presidential election as Kais Saied seeks a second term, while his most prominent critics are in prison after his main rival was jailed last month.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Observers see the election, which Saied is expected to win, as a closing chapter in Tunisia's experiment with democracy. Results are expected in the next two days.

The north African country had for a decade prided itself as being the birthplace of the pro-democracy movement after the 2011 Arab spring uprisings against dictatorships. It had been hailed for introducing a competitive, though flawed, democracy after decades of autocratic rule.

Observers and rights groups now say Saied, 66, who has been president since 2019, has undone many of Tunisia's democratic gains while removing institutional and legal checks on his power. In 2021, he seized most powers when he dissolved the elected parliament and rewrote the constitution, a move the opposition described as a coup.

Before polling day, there were no campaign rallies or public debates, and nearly all of the campaign posters in city streets have been Saied's.

Senior figures from the biggest parties, which largely oppose Saied, have been imprisoned on various charges over the past year and those parties did not publicly back any of the three candidates on yesterday's ballot. Other opponents have been barred from running.