The man is one of three candidates selected for the presidential election on October 6, alongside President Kais Saied, who is seeking a second term.
The candidate for the October 6 presidential election in Tunisia, Ayachi Zammel, an industrialist and leader of a small liberal party, was arrested on Monday, September 2, on suspicion of “falsification of sponsorships”a member of his campaign team announced on Mosaïque FM radio. Ayachi Zammel was taken to a National Guard post, the equivalent of the gendarmerie, in Tebourba, about 40 km west of Tunis, Mahdi Abdeljaouad said on the radio.
The treasurer of Azimoun, Ayachi Zammel’s party, Siwar Bargaoui, and a member of his campaign team, was arrested on August 19 for falsifying sponsorships on behalf of Ayachi Zammel. She was released on August 29 pending a trial set for September 19, according to the online website Business News.
Coup de force
Ayachi Zammel is one of three candidates selected on August 10 by the Tunisian electoral authority, Isie, for the October 6 presidential election, alongside President Kais Saied, who is seeking a second term, and Zouhair Maghzaoui, a former member of parliament from the pan-Arab left.
The outgoing president, democratically elected in 2019, has been accused by his detractors and the opposition of authoritarianism since his coup on July 25, 2021, during which he granted himself full powers.
“At least 8 candidates prevented from running”
To everyone’s surprise, the Administrative Court accepted the appeals of three candidates whose applications had been rejected on August 10 by the electoral authority. But the latter has yet to confirm and communicate the final list at the beginning of the week. On August 10, it had disqualified 13 other candidates, arguing that there were insufficient sponsorships, a lack of financial guarantees or nationality criteria that were not respected.
On August 20, the NGO Human Rights Watch criticized the candidate selection process, saying that:“at least eight potential candidates [avaient] been prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned” and, in fact, “prevented from appearing”Other candidates for the position have complained of administrative obstacles in obtaining various documents (sponsorship forms, criminal records, etc.).
