Tunisian court handed down eight-month prison sentences to four potential presidential candidates and barred them from running for office on charges of vote buying, politicians and a lawyer informed Reuters. They asserted that this move was intended to exclude serious competitors of President Kais Saied.
Opposition parties, candidates, and human rights groups have expressed heightened concerns that authorities are imposing arbitrary restrictions and using intimidation tactics to secure President Kais Saied’s reelection on Oct. 6.
According to lawyer Mokthar Jmai, the ruling targets prominent politician Abdel Latif Mekki, activist Nizar Chaari, Judge Mourad Massoudi, and candidate Adel Dou.
Despite this, Ahmed Nafatti, Mekki’s campaign manager, stated they still intend to submit his candidacy papers on Tuesday.
Nafatti criticised the decision as “unjust and unfair,” claiming it aims to exclude a significant competitor from the race.
“This ruling is shocking and designed to keep us out of the race after facing numerous restrictions,” Chaari told Reuters.
Late Monday, another court sentenced Abir Moussi, a notable opponent of Saied, to two years in prison for insulting the election commission, according to local Mosaique radio.
Last month, Lotfi Mraihi, a potential presidential candidate and outspoken critic of Saied, was given an eight-month prison sentence for vote buying and barred from running in the presidential election.
Saied, elected in 2019, disbanded parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree, a move criticised by opposition figures as a coup. He has declared that he will not transfer power to those he considers “non-patriots.”
Opposition parties, with many of their leaders jailed, accuse Saied’s government of pressuring the judiciary to eliminate rivals and ensure his victory in the 2024 elections.
President Saied has refuted imposing any restrictions on competing candidates. “There are no limitations on presidential contenders; this is nonsense and falsehoods,” Saied informed reporters on Monday after filing his candidacy.
At least four well-known potential candidates reported earlier that the election commission had foisted a new requirement to provide police records for registration, but the interior ministry had refused to issue these documents.
Authorities were accused of attempting to revert Tunisia to the era of dictatorship and sham elections that were prevalent before the 2011 Tunisian revolution. The interior ministry did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
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