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Tunisia Approves Two Challengers to Saied, Snubs Court Ruling

Sherif Tarek

2 September 2024 at 2:43 pm·1-min read

(Bloomberg) -- Tunisia’s election authority approved just two opposition candidates to challenge President Kais Saied in next month’s vote, and one of them was arrested on the same day.

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The electoral watchdog excluded three other potential candidates who by court order are eligible to run, the state TAP news agency reported. It approved the candidacy of Ayachi Zammel, who was detained earlier Monday at his house on charges related to forged endorsements, according to TAP.

The other opposition figure permitted to stand was Zouhair Maghzaoui, secretary-general of the secularist People’s Movement party.

Saied, a former constitutional law professor who’s seeking another five-year term in elections due Oct. 6, is facing mounting accusations that he’s orchestrating a victory. Critics say the president’s unfettered powers leave no room for competition, after a wave of arrests and restrictions on media coverage.

The electoral commission had previously rejected the candidacies of prominent politicians Abdellatif Mekki, Mondher Znaidi and Imed Daimi, only for the decision to be revoked by a Tunisian administrative court. A spokesperson for the court told TAP that the commission was obliged to implement the ruling by allowing the trio to take part in the election. But Monday’s announcement means that the three have failed to make the final candidate list.

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