Tunisians are protesting again against the president before the election on October 6

Hundreds of Tunisians rallied against President Kais Saied on Sunday, saying that he was making authoritarian rule stronger and stifling political competition just two weeks before the election for president.

Protesters marched along Tunis’s main avenue, which was the center of the “Arab Spring” revolution in 2011, for a second week. There were a lot of police there, and they chanted things like “The people want the fall of the regime” and “Out with dictator Saied.”

Lawmakers wanted to pass a bill that would take away the administrative court’s power to settle election issues. The opposition says this would hurt the credibility of the Oct. 6 election and make it easier for Saied to get a second term.

Leading the rival Attayar party, Nabil Hajji, told Reuters, “Saied’s actions show that he is no longer popular, and he fears losing the election.”

“Tunisians now have only one choice, which is the streets to defend our democracy,” said he.

Tensions in the North African country’s government have grown since Saied’s election board kicked out three well-known presidential candidates: Mondher Znaidi, Abdellatif Mekki, and Imed Daimi.

The commission went against the administrative court, which is the highest court for election-related issues, and only let two people run against Saied.

As of Wednesday, one of them, Ayachi Zammel, was given a 20-month prison term for forgery on election paperwork. He says the case was politically motivated.

Critics say Saied is using the courts and the election commission to get ahead by making it hard for other candidates to run and scaring them. They say the president is facing traitors, mercenaries, and corrupt people, but the president denies them.

Saied was chosen democratically in 2019, but he has since tightened his control by starting to rule by decree in 2021. This has been called a coup by the opposition.