WITH his major opponents imprisoned or left off the ballot, Tunisian President Kais Saied faces few obstacles to winning re-election on Sunday.

The North African country’s October 6 presidential election is its third since protests led to the 2011 ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali — the first leader toppled in the Arab Spring uprisings that also overthrew leaders in Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

A raft of arrests and actions taken by the president’s hand picked election authority have raised questions about whether this year’s race is free and fair. And opposition parties have called for a boycott.

It’s the first presidential race since President Saied declared a state of emergency in July 2021, sacked his prime minister, suspended the parliament and rewrote Tunisia’s constitution to entrench his own power.

Those actions outraged pro-democracy groups and leading opposition parties, who called them a coup. Yet despite anger from career politicians, voters approved the new constitution the following year in a low-turnout referendum.

Authorities subsequently began arresting Mr Saied’s critics including journalists, lawyers, politicians and civil society figures, charging them with endangering state security and violating a controversial anti-fake news law that observers argue stifles dissent.

Seventeen potential candidates filed paperwork to run, but Tunisia’s election authority approved only three: Mr Saied, veteran politician Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Ayachi Zammel.