Disillusioned Tunisians in backsliding democracy to elect parliament

To the outside world, Saturday’s elections in Tunisia raise several red flags: Many opposition parties are boycotting them, foreign media are banned from talking to candidates and critics say the new electoral law makes it harder for women to compete.

But many Tunisians believe their country’s decade-old democratic revolution has failed, and are exasperated with its political elites. They welcome their increasingly autocratic president’s political reforms and see the vote for a new parliament as a chance to solve their financial crisis.

The North African country was the only nation to emerge from the 2011 Arab Spring protests with a democratic government, which replaced longtime autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. But there’s been much backsliding since.