A Tunisian court ratifies one of the sentences against a candidate for the Presidency a few days before the vote

MADRID 4 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

A court in Tunisia has ratified a sentence of one year and eight months in prison for politician Ayachi Zamel, one of the three candidates for this Sunday’s presidential elections, for alleged irregularities in collecting support for the vote.

Zamel’s lawyer, Abdesatar Mesaudi, has denounced on his account on the social network Facebook that the ruling represents “a clear violation of procedures” after an “urgent hearing” was called after “rejecting the request of his lawyers and of the accused for delaying the examination”.

Likewise, he has stressed that the situation does not affect the candidacy of Zamel, who this week has been sentenced to twelve years in prison in several cases for alleged falsification of documents in the documents presented with the signatures necessary to be able to go to the polls.

Zamel is one of the only three candidates validated by the Independent Higher Authority for Elections (ISIE) for the presidential elections, in which the current president, Kais Saied, aspires to re-election amid complaints about his authoritarian drift and increased repression against critical voices.

Saied has been the focus of criticism from the opposition and activists, especially after assuming all powers in May 2021 after dissolving the Government and suspending Parliament, which was later dissolved. Various international organizations have also expressed their concern about the political situation in the country.

The opposition, mostly united around the National Salvation Front (FSN), has denounced Saied’s actions for more than two years and has demanded his resignation, especially given the wave of arrests of opponents, activists and journalists, as well as the low participation rates in the constitutional referendum and the elections held since then in Tunisia.