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Alberto Sanchez Lozano
Juan Bosco Govantes Romero has been collaborating closely with the Political and Electoral Observatory of the Arab and Muslim World (OPEMAM) for a long time, although his relationship became formal a year ago. OPEMAM is an academic research project that deals with the analysis and observation of political and electoral processes in Arab and Muslim countries. It was created at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and is linked to its Workshop on International Mediterranean Studies (TEIM).
"The electoral process that we have had the opportunity to observe has been somewhat complex since the third legislative elections and the second presidential elections have coincided in just one month. These electoral processes have followed different logics", recognized the professor of the area of Political Science and of the Administration of the URJC.
University professor Kaïs Saied was the winner of the presidential elections in Tunisia. A university professor without charisma among the electorate or political structure, without a program to govern, or hardly campaigning. For Juan Bosco Govantes, the fact that there is a winner with this profile means "the more than palpable disaffection of Tunisians for parties with parliamentary representation, since there was a low participation rate in the first round of these elections, especially among young people", reflects Govantes.
"Regarding the second round of the presidential elections, the intellectual and non-partisan profile of the candidate Kaïs Saied has managed to mobilize and excite a young electorate that has been decisive in explaining the magnitude of his victory", he affirms.
A candidate admired by young people
"Kaïs Saied is an intellectual in the field of law who is well known for his interventions in the media and who arouses admiration among Tunisian youth, especially university graduates. His campaign has been articulated on a non-partisan basis and with limited means and messages focused on the recovery of revolutionary popular legitimacy and its independence from the parties", indicates the URJC professor.
Although he had no experience in politics and various popular and unrealistic proposals, Saied has managed to make his message appeal to a large part of the Tunisian electorate, especially people who have abstained in previous elections. "In the second round, he also had the support of the leading parliamentary force, the moderate Islamist party 'Ennahda', which has mobilized its electorate in favor of his candidacy," explained Govantes.
After the fall of the dictator Ben Ali in 2011 with the so-called 'Jasmine Revolution', Tunisia is immersed in a transition process towards being a fully democratic country, despite the fact that it is suffering from serious problems such as the economic crisis due to the fall in tourism , poverty or inequality.
"Tunisia is a successful example of how to make a political transition and, without a doubt, a great example for the Arab world. On a political level and on rights and freedoms, the transition has been exemplary. In addition, the country has a civil society organization very committed to democracy, highlighting the role of unions, such as the UGTT, or local electoral observatories such as 'Mourakiboun' or IWatch", concluded the political scientist and professor at the URJC.