Tunisia: Kais Saied to run for elections against only two contenders

The Tunisian electoral commission has only accepted bids by three candidates, including incumbent president Kais Saied, who is accused by his opponents of using the judiciary to eliminate his political opponents using bogus charges.

The electoral commission has accepted bids by Ayachi Zammel and Zouhair Magzhaoui, who are believed to be allies of Kais Saied, playing the role of pacemakers in an election in which Saied is poised to be re-elected on October 6.

While the contenders are not influential figures in Tunisia’s political scene, prominent politicians, such as Mondher Znaidi, Imed Daimi, Abdel Latif Mekki, Karim Gharbi, Safi Said, Kamel Akrout, and Nizar Chaari, said authorities declined to provide them with documents required to submit their application to the electoral committee.

Earlier this month, four potential candidates were indicted on the charge of vote buying- which they denied. They are Abdel Latif Mekki, activist Nizar Chaari, Judge Mourad Massoudi, and another candidate, Adel Dou.

Potential candidate, Abir Moussi, also a prominent opponent of Saied, has been sentenced the same day to two years in prison, on a charge of insulting the election commission.

Last month, a court in Tunis handed an eight-month prison sentence to leader of the Republican Union Party Lotfi Mraihi, an outspoken critic of Kais Saied.

Tunisia’s rights watchdog “I Watch” denounced “complicated procedures” and “a methodical absence of transparency” for elections in the North African country.