Five Years After President Saied's Power Grab, Tunisia Faces Old Grievances Anew

Tunis, Tunisia – More than 15 years after Tunisians rose up to topple longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, familiar grievances are again being voiced on streets from north to south, according to Al Jazeera.

The slogans of the 2011 revolution are back: 'jobs, freedom, and national dignity.' This time, the demands are fueled by water cuts, power outages, soaring prices, medicine shortages, and the daily struggle to make ends meet—problems that increasingly affect Tunisians of all social classes.

But the anger unfolds in a very different political landscape. The discontent comes as Tunisia marks five years since President Kais Saied suspended parliament, dissolved the government, and began ruling by decree—a move he described as necessary to end a long political paralysis and corruption.

Many Tunisians initially welcomed the move, frustrated with a political system that had failed to deliver economic progress after the 2011 revolution. Yet five years on, many grievances remain unchanged, while the political space to challenge the rulers has drastically narrowed.

Old Demands, New Wrath

The decade following Ben Ali's ouster brought competitive elections and broader space for political parties and civil society, but was also marked by frequent government changes, political infighting, and scant improvements in people's lives. Unemployment remained high, especially among youth and in the interior regions. Public services deteriorated, and rising prices squeezed household incomes. By late 2020, unemployment stood at 17.4%, according to the World Bank. Tunisia also faced serious security threats, including attacks and political assassinations, which added economic pressure and hurt tourism.

Such grievances helped Saied build support as an outsider promising to break the traditional political establishment. On July 25, 2021, Saied suspended the Assembly of People's Representatives, dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, and lifted MPs' immunity, calling it an action to resolve a national crisis. The opposition called it a coup. Saied later dissolved parliament and introduced a new constitution in 2022, concentrating significant power in the presidency.

Since then, opposition figures, journalists, lawyers, and activists have been jailed or prosecuted in cases that rights groups describe as politically motivated. Civil society faces growing restrictions, and critics say checks on presidential power have been weakened.

The 'Conspiracy Case' and Verdicts

In the so-called 'conspiracy case,' Tunisian authorities accused politicians, lawyers, opposition activists, and other public figures of plotting against state security. In April 2025, a Tunisian court sentenced 37 defendants to terms ranging from 4 to 66 years in prison. Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the case as politically motivated and criticized the trial for lacking proper legal safeguards. On November 27, 2025, an appeals court upheld sentences for 34 of the 37 defendants, imposing penalties from 5 to 45 years, and acquitted three. HRW and other rights groups again condemned the rulings as part of a crackdown. The government denies the allegations, insisting the defendants were prosecuted for serious crimes against state security.

Unresolved Economic Crisis

Many of Tunisia's economic problems predate Saied, but these failures are increasingly hard to separate from his record, as he came to power vowing that a stronger state could fix the old system's weaknesses.

This summer, temperatures in some areas neared 50°C, pushing electricity demand to record levels. Kairouan recorded 49.8°C. The Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas implemented rolling power cuts in many areas, affecting water pumping stations as well. Some residents reported losing water for days; bottled water ran short; long lines formed at shops and water trucks.

'People are tired. They choose to cross the sea and die rather than stay. I hope we can unite and find a solution now. We are not asking for the impossible. The problem is water and electricity. We want to live like human beings. We feel like we are dying while alive,' said Rebh, a 40-year-old cleaning worker in Tunis, told Al Jazeera. The extreme heat also strained an already overstretched health system.

The core question is not that Saied created Tunisia's economic problems—but whether the centralized system he built has delivered more effective governance as he promised.

Shrinking Space for Dissent

Journalist Manel Derbali said that after the 2011 revolution, Tunisians had better freedom of expression and access to information, and journalists had channels to raise concerns about working conditions and reach decision-makers. 'After July 25, all that space closed,' Derbali said, with reporters now struggling to get responses from government agencies, sometimes waiting months. 'Unfortunately, history is repeating itself; we have to rely on citizens' videos to investigate and verify information.'

The Nafas movement, which organized recent protests in Tunis, brings together political parties and independent figures outside the traditional opposition. Rabii Qassem, a Nafas member, said the 2011–2021 period was not a 'paradise' but offered gains: freedom of speech and protest, a stronger civil society, diverse media, and elections that allowed peaceful power transfers. 'After July 25, the pre-existing socio-economic problems were not resolved, but we also got a decline in checks, political balance, and civil society space.' 'Where are jobs? Where is water? Where are public services? Where is dignity?' Qassem asked.

Tunisia is not necessarily experiencing a new 2011 revolution. Many still distrust the parties and politicians who dominated the post-Ben Ali decade, and Saied retains supporters who blame the old period for the stagnation. But the protests show that economic and political grievances are increasingly overlapping. Before 2021, Tunisians could blame a dysfunctional democratic political system. After 2021, Saied dismantled much of that system and promised a stronger president would deliver better governance. Five years later, many grievances remain. The difference is that the avenues for protest are now much narrower.