Protesters chant slogans demanding the enforcement of an administrative court ruling to reinstate three other leading candidates in the presidential race, near the election commission headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Reuters
Tunisia’s elections commission on Monday (September 2, 2024) rejected an administrative court’s decision to reinstate three presidential election candidates, fuelling opposition fears that the commission tried to benefit incumbent leader Kais Saied.
Defying the supreme judicial body, the commission approved the candidacy of only President Saied and two others, Zouhair Magzaoui and Ayachi Zammel, for the election scheduled for October 6. The commission said the election campaign would begin on September 14.
The decision could shake the credibility of the vote and deepen a political crisis that has been growing since 2021, when Saied consolidated his grip on all powers and began ruling by decree in a move described by the opposition as a coup.
Last week, the Administrative Court, the highest judicial body that adjudicates on electoral disputes, reinstated three leading candidates, Mondhar Znaidi, Abdel Latif Mekki and Imed Daimi, into the race after the electoral commission rejected their candidacy applications.
Tunisian constitutional law professors have said that the electoral commission must implement the administrative court’s ruling as is, otherwise the elections will lose all credibility.