WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
BY SUDARSAN RAGHAVAN
tunis — In a resounding defeat
for Tunisia’s establishment, two
political outsiders, including one
who campaigned from jail, are
headed for a runoff to become the
next president of the sole democ-
racy to emerge from the Arab
Spring uprisings.
With all the ballots counted
from Sunday’s election, the na-
tion’s e lection commission report-
ed Tuesday that Kais Saied, a
once-obscure law professor who
ran as an independent, has se-
cured 18.4 percent of the vote.
Nabil Karoui, a media tycoon who
was detained in August on suspi-
cion of tax evasion and money
laundering, won 15.6 percent.
In third place in the field of
more than two dozen contenders
was Abdelfattah Mourou of the
moderate Islamist Ennahda Party,
one of the most influential politi-
cal groups since Tunisia’s revolu-
tion ousted longtime dictator
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011
and touched off a wave of upris-
ings across the region.
The North African country’s
second free presidential election
took place amid growing disillu-
sionment over the lack of eco-
nomic progress since the revolu-
tion. High unemployment, rising
prices and cuts in government
spending have triggered street
protests. Islamist extremism has
grown, with both the Islamic State
and al-Qaeda staging attacks.
Many Tunisians, especially
youths, are alienated from their
leaders and political parties, ac-
cording to recent polls and ana-
lysts. Sunday’s vote reflected that
lack of faith in the status quo. In
an indication of voter apathy,
roughly 45 percent of the coun-
try’s 7 million registered voters
cast ballots, down nearly 20 per-
centage points from the turnout
in Tunisia’s 2014 p residential elec-
tion.
This year’s e lection, pushed for-
ward by two months following the
death in late July of 92-year-old
President Beji Caid Essebsi, was
the most competitive since the
revolution. The 26 candidates
represented diverse political, so-
cial and religious views.
They included Prime Minister
Youssef Chahed; Moncef Marzou-
ki, the interim president after the
revolution; and former defense
minister Abdelkarim Zbidi. Tw o
women also ran, including Abir
Moussi, a 45-year-old lawyer who
professed support for Ben Ali.
The run-up to the election was
peaceful, with boisterous cam-
paign rallies unlike anything seen
in a region ruled by dictators and
monarchs. The one incident that
marred the image of an otherwise
maturing democracy was the ar-
rest of Karoui.
The 55-year-old media mogul,
who is the founder of a private
television station channel, was
detained last month in a case that
was three years old. Noting the
timing of the arrest, Karoui’s sup-
porters said his detention was
politically motivated. Two groups
of international observers, the Eu-
ropean Union a nd the Carter Cen-
ter, raised concerns that the elec-
toral process had been unduly
influenced, especially as Karoui
was leading in the polls.
Even though he is a member of
Tunisia’s wealthy elite and afounding member of Essebsi’s
party, Karoui portrayed himself as
a populist champion of the down-
trodden who could change the
system from t he outside. He d oled
out food and other forms of chari-
ty t o the impoverished, promising
“a revolution” for those neglected
by the political establishment
that would bring economic
growth.
Tunisian law allowed him to
campaign from prison, and his
supporters portrayed him as a
political prisoner, likening him to
South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.
The 61-year-old Saied, in con-
trast, campaigned only by meet-
ing voters on their doorsteps to
explain his views. The constitu-
tional law professor at t he Univer-
sity of Tunis has never belonged to
a political party. Tunisians have
nicknamed him “Robot Man” for
his stiff manner and rapid, stacca-
to speeches filled with facts, often
in classical Arabic.
According to the Project on
Middle East Democracy, Saied
holds deeply conservative views
on social issues, notably support-
ing the death penalty, w hich Tuni-
sia suspended in 1994. H e has also
referred to homosexuality “as an
illness and foreign plot.”Still, Saied has managed to ap-
peal to voters, especially disillu-
sioned youths, by promising to be
anti-establishment. He h as vowed
to live at home and not in the
lavish presidential palace if elect-
ed, and he has promised to restore
power to the people.
The runoff election could be
held as early as the end of this
month, but most likely will be in
October. Although no trial date
has been set, if Karoui is convicted
before the next round, he would
be replaced by the third-place
candidate — presumably Ennah-
da’s Mourou. It i s unclear whether
Karoui would receive immunity
from prosecution if he won the
runoff.
Moreover, parliamentary elec-
tions are scheduled for Oct. 6.
They are considered more impor-
tant than Sunday’s vote because
they would produce the next
prime minister. In Tunisia, the
prime minister derives power
from parliament and has more
authority than the president.
Chahed, even though he lost in
the presidential vote, remains
prime minister. And Saied, with-
out a party, will have no represen-
tation in parliament.
[email protected]BY SHIBANI MAHTANI
Hong Kong democracy activ-
ists presented their case before a
congressional commission Tues-
day for tougher U.S. action, in-
cluding possible sanctions, to
counter China’s steady erosion of
the territory’s freedoms, as mo-
mentum builds in Washington
for a more robust response.
Veteran activist Joshua Wong,
musician Denise Ho, academics
and a student union representa-
tive appeared before the Congres-
sional-Executive Commission on
China, which has bipartisan lead-
ership.
In their testimonies, they
echoed Hong Kong protesters
who have raised alarm over al-
leged police brutality and China’s
efforts to erode the “one country,
two systems” framework under
which Hong Kong is supposed to
enjoy a high level of autonomy.
“Beijing shouldn’t have it both
ways, reaping all the economic
benefits of Hong Kong’s standing
in the world while eradicating
our freedoms,” said Wong, who as
a teenager in 2014 was the face of
Hong Kong youths calling for
changes to allow the direct elec-
tion of Hong Kong’s leadership.
He was arrested last month in a
crackdown against prominent ac-
tivists, although he has not
played a central role in the wave
of protests that has gripped the
city since June.
“Our most important demand
is genuine structural change in
Hong Kong, which means free
elections,” he added.
Ho added that the protests,
sparked by a now-shelved propos-
al to allow extraditions to main-
land China, has “always been
about fundamental conflicts” be-
tween differing values — the Chi-
nese authoritarian model on one
hand, and Hong Kong, which has
a “deep attachment” to its free-
doms, rule of law and human
rights.
“This is not a plea for so-called
foreign interference,” Ho
said. “This is a plea for democra-
cy. This is a plea for the freedom
to choose.”
As a live stream of the hearing
played on YouTube, the com-
ments page flooded with com-
ments coming in every secondurging the U.S. to “liberate Hong
Kong.”
Protesters have been lobbying
the U.S. government to pass
the Hong Kong Human Rights
and Democracy Act, which seeks
to impose sanctions such as asset
freezes and visa bans on those
found to be “suppressing basic
freedoms” in Hong Kong.
The bill would require an an-
nual review of the special treat-
ment Washington affords Hong
Kong under the United States-
Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992,
including trade and business
privileges that do not extend to
mainland China. Protesters who
have been arrested for participat-
ing in Hong Kong’s democracy
movement in recent years could
also be protected if the bill passes,
as the legislation would make
them eligible for U.S. visas de-
spite their criminal records.
Beijing has railed against “for-
eign influence” in the Hong Kong
protests, although there is scant
evidence that the movement is
externally funded or supported,
and says it considers the situation
in Hong Kong to be solely the
purview of China. The Hong
Kong government also has
stressed that foreign legislatures
should not interfere in “internal
affairs.”
The Hong Kong Human Rights
and Democracy Act, which is now
in the Senate, has wide-ranging
bipartisan support, including
from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-Calif.) and Sen. Marco Rubio
(R-Fla.), who have both appealed
to Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.) to pass the bill.
Several prominent senators have
added their names to a list of
co-sponsors.
In his prepared testimony be-
fore the commission, Sunny Che-
ung, a spokesman for a group of
Hong Kong student unions, end-
ed his testimony by evoking
Thomas Jefferson.
“Hong Kong people will take
every step, with the last inch of
our efforts, to fight for our democ-
racy and freedoms,” he said. “A s
Thomas Jefferson once said, he
would be forever against any
form of tyranny. I believe this is a
time for Americans to stand with
Hong Kong”
[email protected]Political outsiders are front-runners in Tunisia Hong Kong activists ask
Congress to get tougher
MOSA'AB ELSHAMY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kais Saied, a constitutional law professor, secured the most votes in the first round of Tunisia’s
presidential election. He has managed to appeal to voters by promising to be anti-establishment.Once-obscure professor,
media magnate advance
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