Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections announced on Monday the final list of candidates for the upcoming presidential elections.
The commission said that the final list of candidates is limited to 3, excluding 3 others whose appeals were accepted by the Administrative Court.
The commission explained that the list includes the current president, Kais Saied, the Secretary-General of the People’s Movement, Zuhair Al-Maghzawi, and the head of the Azmoun Movement, Al-Ayachi Zamal, stressing the impossibility of implementing the decisions announced by the Administrative Court to return 3 candidates, namely Abdel Latif Al-Makki, Imad Al-Daimi, and Mondher Al-Zanaidi.
The head of the authority, Farouk Bou Askar, said: “It was not possible to view copies of the rulings issued recently by the general session of the Administrative Court because the authority was not notified of them in accordance with the law within 48 hours of the date of their issuance by the Administrative Court,” stressing that “the list of accepted candidates approved by its council held on August 10 is considered a final list and not subject to appeal.”
The presidential elections in Tunisia will be held on October 6, and the candidate must secure endorsements from 10 parliamentarians, 40 elected local officials, or 10,000 voters, with at least 500 endorsements required in each electoral district.
In addition to the outgoing president, the commission approved the candidacy of the head of the “People’s Movement Party” (Arab nationalist), Zuhair Al-Maghzawi, and the businessman and former MP, Al-Ayachi Zemal.
The election commission’s decision could damage the credibility of the election and exacerbate a political crisis that has been escalating since 2021, when Saied tightened his grip on all powers and began ruling by decree in a move the opposition calls a coup.
The candidates whose return to the presidential race was approved by the court are former leader of the Islamist Ennahdha party Abdellatif Mekki, former minister and prominent political activist Mondher Zenaidi, and former advisor to President Moncef Marzouki, Imed Daimi.
On Saturday, 26 Tunisian and international organizations and about 200 individuals called in a joint statement for the implementation of administrative decisions to re-admit candidates who were initially rejected by the electoral authority.
Last updated: September 2, 2024 – 18:57
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2024-09-03 23:52:15