Tunisian prosecutor orders imprisonment for presidential candidate Zammel

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian prosecutors on Wednesday ordered the pre-trial detention of presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel, the latest move critics say is a maneuver by President Kais Saied to eliminate his re-election rivals.

Zammel was arrested on Monday on suspicion of falsifying electoral endorsements. He was one of three candidates approved for the October 6 election, along with Saied and politician Zouhair Maghzaoui.

Zammel strongly denied the allegations and said he faced “restrictions and intimidation” because he was a serious competitor to Saied.

Zammel's lawyer Kais Oueslati told Reuters that prosecutors had decided to keep him in custody pending trial, although the date has not yet been set.

The decision came two days after the Tunisian electoral commission ignored an administrative court's decision to allow three prominent candidates to run again.

Human rights groups, political parties and constitutional law professors protested, saying the decision was an unprecedented move that raised doubts about the legitimacy and legality of the election in the North African country.

Saied, a retired law professor, was democratically elected in 2019 and tightened his grip on all powers in 2021 in a move the opposition called a coup.

Saied denied staging a coup and said his moves were legal and aimed at ending years of chaos and corruption. He said last year he would not hand Tunisia over to “non-patriots”.

The official start of the election campaign is scheduled for September 14. Critics of Saied then called on all of his competitors to drop out of the race, saying the vote was a farce.

They said the electoral commission was no longer independent and its only goal was to ensure Saied's return for a second term. The electoral commission denies such allegations and says it only applies the law and is neutral.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; editing by Mark Heinrich)