Arab spring dreams in ruins as Tunisia goes to polls against backdrop of repression

Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, has accused civil society and opposition groups critical of his leadership of being puppets of foreign countries. Photograph: Johanna Geron/Reuters

Tunisia will hold a presidential election on Sunday against the backdrop of a crackdown on dissent and human rights violations committed against undocumented migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

The incumbent, Kais Saied, whose most prominent critics are behind bars, is expected to sail to an easy win after a campaign with few rallies and public debates, marking a significant step back for a country that long prided itself as the birthplace of the Arab spring uprisings of 2011.