A Tunisian court on Monday sentenced four potential presidential candidates to eight months in prison and banned them from running for office on charges of vote buying.
This move, perceived as a strategy to eliminate strong competitors of President Kais Saied, was confirmed by politicians and a lawyer.
The ruling has intensified concerns among opposition parties, candidates, and human rights organizations, who accuse authorities of employing arbitrary restrictions and intimidation to secure Saied’s re-election in the October 6 vote.
Prominent politician Abdel Latif Mekki, activist Nizar Chaari, Judge Mourad Massoudi, and another candidate, Adel Dou, were targeted by this decision, according to lawyer Mokthar Jmai.
Despite the court’s ruling, Mekki’s campaign manager, Ahmed Nafatti, announced plans to submit his candidacy papers on Tuesday, condemning the verdict as unjust and intended to exclude a significant contender.
Chaari echoed this sentiment, denouncing the decision as a deliberate attempt to prevent their participation after a series of restrictive measures.
In a related development, a court sentenced Abir Moussi, another prominent opponent of Saied, to two years in prison on charges of insulting the election commission. Last month, potential candidate Lotfi Mraihi faced a similar fate, receiving an eight-month prison sentence and a ban from running in the presidential elections on vote-buying charges.
President Saied, elected in 2019, dissolved parliament in 2021 and has since ruled by decree, a move described by the opposition as a coup. He has asserted his refusal to relinquish power to “non-patriots.” Despite numerous accusations, Saied denies imposing any restrictions on his rivals, labeling such claims as false.
Earlier on Monday, additional prominent potential candidates reported that the election commission required them to submit their police records to register. However, the interior ministry allegedly refused to provide these records, raising further allegations of authorities attempting to revert Tunisia to the pre-2011 revolution era of dictatorship and manipulated elections. The interior ministry was not immediately available for comment.
