Tunisia union chief slams elections as pointless

Tunisia's powerful UGTT trade union chief took aim Saturday at legislative elections due later this month, claiming they serve no purpose in light of constitutional reforms that neutered political parties.

President Kais Saied last year sacked the government and suspended parliament, then this year extended his power grab with a constitutional referendum marred by an official turnout of barely 30 percent.

"We head into these elections which have neither taste nor colour, stemming from a constitution that was not participatory and was not approved by a majority", Noureddine Taboubi said.

The new constitution severely limits the power of parliament, previously dominated by the Islamist inspired Ennahdha party, Saied's longtime nemesis and one of many parties boycotting the December 17 poll.

Tunisia was for many years the sole democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring, but economic progress was stymied by political wrangling and Saied's power grab has led critics to warn of a return to autocracy.