June 28, 2021

Citizens in a State participated in the Order of Engineers elections as part of a broad alliance of opposition groups and parties. The movement congratulates the winners of the “The Union Uprising” list, especially our comrades and supporters who won all the seats they ran for. The list achieved a crushing victory in six branches, compared to one branch that was attributed by a minimal difference to the coalition of political parties in power. This is the sixth branch comprising state employees and contractors, who, out of implicit blackmailing for some and dependence on state benefits for others, voted as they did.

The nature and outcome of this confrontation reflected two remarkable things, and as well as a call for caution:

Firstly, the ruling parties have formed a clear coalition, although unannounced, despite their boisterous and sterile conflicts. This reflects their interdependence within a paralyzed system and their confusion in facing the new reality. The overwhelming electoral results are further proof of the regime’s ailing legitimacy, along with its traditional actors.

Secondly, it was remarkable to witness the alliance of suspicious and notorious groups, some of which are within the current regime and opportunistically present themselves as opposition, under the slogan of independence. This positioning is an indication of not only the reality of the transitional phase that the country is going through, but also of the danger that it represents, and its exploitation by certain traditional and emerging forces to achieve petty interests and implement imposed agendas.

Thirdly, we must be aware that the results of this election are a referendum for a segment of our society, which is not necessarily indicative of other segments, especially in the context of parliamentary elections. In 2017, we elected a union representative from the opposition. But he did not anticipate or face the current bankruptcy, despite our efforts and urgency. Thus, the savings of engineers were dilapidated. A few months later, sectarian parties overwhelmingly won the 2018 parliamentary elections. Therefore, the confrontation is neither factional, sectoral, nor even professional. It is profoundly political.

The bad experiences of the past must be avoided, particularly the election of the former union representative, and the last parliamentary elections, with all the ambiguities of the fragile electoral alliance of “Koulouna Watani”. In all forthcoming elections, and across the country, the confrontation will be useless without a clear and viable alternative political project.

Our political movement has decided to challenge sectarian authority in all available fronts to overturn the balance of power in favor of a comprehensive political project based primarily on the transition from the illegitimate and failed sectarian cooperative system to a just and capable civil state.

The country is in ruins and engineers will either be builders of this nation, or export material to foreign job markets.

We call on all engineers, across the entire political and confessional spectrum, and union members in general, to act in wisdom and courage in this delicate and historic moment. After celebrating this electoral victory, we call on them to join us in our political struggle, which aims to impose a transitional government that would stop the collapse and build the foundations of a civil state.