Tunisia-2024 presidential election: Fraud accusations, ISIE refers the case to courts

Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) announced on Wednesday, via its Facebook page, that it has referred the case of a rejected presidential candidate from the 2024 election to the courts. This action follows accusations of fraud and false declarations.

According to ISIE, the candidate has allegedly concealed grounds for ineligibility, violating articles 291 of the Penal Code and 158 of the Tunisian Electoral Code. The candidate reportedly falsified a declaration on honor, omitting to mention his foreign nationality, which is a constitutional and legal barrier to his candidacy. Additionally, the candidate is accused of using a falsified certificate in his application. The case has been forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for legal proceedings.

ISIE did not disclose the name of the candidate involved. However, judicial sources indicated that Ayachi Zammel was arrested and held in police custody for 48 hours on Monday evening on suspicions of forging sponsorship documents for his candidacy. Siwar Bargaoui, the treasurer of Zammel’s party, Azimoun, and a member of his campaign team, was arrested on August 19 for falsifying sponsorships. She was released on August 29 and is set to face trial on September 19, according to Business News.

The ISIE has released a final, non-appealable list of candidates for the election, which includes incumbent President Kaïs Saïed, 66, running for a second term.

As anticipated, ISIE has had the final say on the candidates. After examining the rulings of the administrative court and its reasons, as well as the rulings of the judiciary, ISIE has not admitted some aspirants whose appeals had been accepted on appeal by the administrative court, namely those of Imed Daimi, Mondher Zanaidi, and Abdellatif Mekki.