Leaders of the National Salvation Front said on Monday that the "low turnout" in the first round of local elections announced by the electoral commission showed the "failure of the project" of President Kaïs Saïed and the "profound disinterest" of Tunisians. At a press conference, president of the National Salvation Front, Néjib Chebbi, said that almost 90 per cent of Tunisians had "turned their backs" and decided not to vote. "From one election to the next, abstention is increasing for the fourth time in a row," he said. "These results, which we contest, confirm the statements made by the leaders of the National Salvation Front that Kaïs Saïed's populist project does not have people's support,' he added. For him, the second chamber of parliament will be "fragile" in terms of "representativeness". Néjib Chebbi reiterated his call for a "national dialogue" and political and economic reforms, in addition to the formation of a "government of national salvation" that would lead to the organisation of legislati ve and presidential elections in order to regain what he described as "constitutional legitimacy". For his part, Abdellatif Mekki, secretary-general of the Parti du Travail et Réalisation, criticised the performance of the electoral commission, saying that "the ISIE is a body responsible for organising elections, not for promoting them". Riadh Chaïbi, leader in the Ennahdha movement, spoke of the pressure exerted by the authorities on the activities of political parties and the lack of a political climate conducive to participation in the various elections. In his view, the low turnout was due to "Tunisians' lack of interest in politics" and their "current preoccupation with their difficult social and economic conditions". "National duty demands that we all unite to find a way out of the crisis and pull the country out of this slump to avoid an unprecedented economic collapse," he said. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse