Tunisia’s election features fed-up voters and bizarre candidates

IT WAS THE first true presidential debate in the Arab world, yet the front-runner was nowhere to be seen. Nabil Karoui was not entirely to blame for his absence from the stage, though. The businessman and media mogul is campaigning to be president of Tunisia from jail.

On September 15th Tunisians will choose a new president for the second time since their revolution in 2010. The democracy that emerged has endured assassinations, terrorist attacks and a moribund economy. Most recently it survived the death of a president: Beji Caid Essebsi, the winner of the election in 2014, who died in July. In a country that had only two rulers for the first half-century after independence, 26 people are now competing to replace Essebsi. With the winner needing at least 50% of the vote, a run-off is likely.