Ahead of the Tunisian general election, the police has arrested a prominent opposition politician, Ayachi Zammel, for allegedly falsifying endorsements from prominent citizens across the country.
Zammel’s arrest came after being confirmed as one of the two opposition candidates seeking to unseat President Kais Saied during next month’s poll.
The candidate’s arrest by the Police was confirmed to newsmen by his campaign manager, Mahdi Abdeljaouad on Monday.
Abdeljaouad disclosed that the presidential candidate was taken to a police station outside the country’s capital, Tunis, on suspicion of falsifying endorsements.
While condemning the arrest, Abdeljaouad said: “The matter has become absurd and targeted to exclude him from the election.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Tunisian government of blocking rivals of President Kais Saied from challenging him in the upcoming election.
Saied, who is seeking a second term, won power in a 2019 election but later orchestrated a sweeping power grab in 2021, shutting down Parliament and ruling by decree.
Opposition figures have been jailed, including the treasurer of Zammel’s Azimoun party, who was arrested last month on similar charges and will stand trial on September 13.
The electoral commission’s announcement reinstates an earlier decision disqualifying several other candidates, including Imed Daimi, an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki.
Before the arrest, Tunisia’s highest judicial body had ruled that Daimi and two other prominent candidates should be allowed to run.
HRW has said at least eight prospective candidates have been “prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned”.
Political parties and human rights groups have called for a protest on Monday near the election headquarters to demand implementation of the court’s decision to reinstate the candidates and stop “arbitrary restrictions” and intimidation.
