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Tunisian electoral authority rejects reinstatement of candidates – News

The Secretary General of the Popular Movement Party, Zouhair Maghzaoui (center), arrives at the office of the independent electoral authority in Tunis on August 6, 2024, to submit his candidacy for the October 6 presidential election.

The Secretary General of the Popular Movement Party, Zouhair Maghzaoui (center), arrives at the office of the independent electoral authority in Tunis on August 6, 2024, to submit his candidacy for the October 6 presidential election.

Published: Mon, 2 September 2024, 16:43

Last updated: Mon, 2 September 2024, 16:44

The Tunisian electoral commission on Monday rejected an administrative court's decision to reinstate three presidential candidates, heightening opposition fears that the commission was favoring incumbent President Kais Saied.

The commission defied the highest judicial body and approved only the candidacies of President Saied and two other candidates, Zouhair Magzhaoui and Ayachi Zammel, for the October 6 elections. The election campaign will begin on September 14, the commission said.


The decision could undermine the credibility of the vote and deepen a political crisis that has been deepening since 2021, when Saied tightened his grip on all powers and began ruling by decree – a move the opposition has called a coup.

Last week, the Administrative Court, the highest judicial body for deciding electoral disputes, allowed three prominent candidates – Mondher Znaidi, AbdelLatif Mekki and Imed Daimi – to re-enter the race after the electoral commission rejected their candidacies.



Tunisian constitutional law professors said the electoral commission must implement the administrative court's decision unchanged, otherwise the election would completely lose its credibility.

Political parties and human rights groups issued a joint statement calling for a protest near the polling station on Monday to demand the implementation of the court's decision to re-admit the candidates and an end to “arbitrary restrictions” and intimidation.

A member of his campaign team said Tunisian police arrested presidential candidate Zammel on Monday, amid growing concern among human rights groups.

Mahdi Abdel Jawad said police arrested Zammel at his home at around 3 a.m. on suspicion of falsifying election endorsements. He added: “The matter has become absurd and aims to disqualify him from the election.”

There was initially no comment from the Election Commission and the Interior Ministry.


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