First Independent Mena Newspaper
In Tunisia, the drama is escalating as the October 6 presidential election approaches. The ISIE, the organization responsible for overseeing the election, had initially approved only three candidates, including incumbent Kaïs Saïed. However, on August 29, 2024, the administrative court overruled this decision, allowing Mondher Zenaidi, who had filed an appeal, to run. This decision […]
Presidential candidate Zouheir Maghzaoui has criticized the Independent High Electoral Body for its “silence” regarding irregularities in the electoral process. At a press conference in Tunis on Wednesday, August 28, Maghzaoui, Secretary General of the “Echaab” Movement, claimed that the electoral process has been compromised by various issues, including administrative bias and unfair treatment by […]
With just 40 days remaining before the presidential election in Tunisia and mounting concerns over the political climate in recent months as many of President Kaïs Saïed’s opponents were detained and numerous presidential candidacies invalidated, the Tunisian Administrative court made on Tuesday a surprising decision by validating the candidacy of Abdellatif Mekki, a prominent opponent […]
On Sunday, August 25, 2024, the President of Tunisia executed a significant reshuffle of his Government, appointing 22 new ministers and Secretaries of State, as announced on the Presidency’s official page. President Kaïs Saïed, who has been in office since 2019, removed 19 ministers—including those responsible for Foreign Affairs and Defense—without providing any official reasons. […]
On August 22, the Tunisian judiciary ordered the release of opposition politician Safi Saïd. Saïd, a former candidate in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections who withdrew from this year’s race, had been arrested on August 20 for “illegally crossing the border into Algeria.” The 70-year-old writer and critic of the current Tunisian president was […]
Human Rights Watch has called on Tunisian authorities to end urgently politically-motivated prosecutions and to allow for free and fair elections during the upcoming presidential vote set for Oct.06, 2024. In a press release issued Tuesday, the NGO said as the country is gearing up for a presidential election, the authorities increased repression of dissent […]
Safi Said, a critic of Tunisian President Kais Saied who had initially announced his candidacy for the presidency before withdrawing, was arrested on Tuesday August 20 for illegally crossing the border into Algeria, according to local media reports on Wednesday August 21. The 70-year-old former MP and writer, who was sentenced to four months in […]
Since the advent of the Tebboune/Chengriha duo, Algeria had only a sole diplomatic success: vassalizing Tunisia and molding it into its own image of an autocracy with a one-man show election. Tunisia’s strong man kais Saied has reduced Tunisia into a vassal state acting on orders from Algiers. His regime has even allowed Algerian agents […]
Relations between Morocco and Tunisia have worsened after a provocative act by Kais Saied regarding Rabat’s sovereignty over the Sahara territory in summer 2022. But in recent weeks, several indicators point to a possible improvement in bilateral ties. Authoritarian president Saied has ended Tunisia’s neutrality on the Sahara issue when he offered the leader of […]
Kais Saied’s Tunisia is continuing to use the judiciary and bogus charges to prevent his political opponents from entering the presidential electoral race. The latest challenger to be eliminated is Tunisian rapper and businessman Karim Gharbi, aka K2Rhym. He was sentenced on Wednesday August 14 to a four-year imprisonment in absentia for buying sponsorships to […]