Tunisians voted Sunday in an election expected to grant President Kais Saied a second term, as his most prominent detractors, including one of the candidates challenging him, are in prison. The 66-year-old president faces few obstacles to winning reelection, five years after riding anti-establishment backlash to a first term, and three after suspending parliament and rewriting the constitution giving the presidency more power. The North African country’s election is its third since protests led to the 2011 ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali — the first autocrat toppled in the Arab Spring uprisings that also overthrew leaders in Egypt, Libya and Yemen. International observers praised the previous two contests as meeting democratic norms. However, a raft of arrests and actions taken by a Saied-appointed election authority have raised questions about whether this year’s race is free and fair. And opposition parties have called for a boycott. What’s at stake? Not long ago, Tunisia was hailed as the Arab Spring’s only…
