https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / News / All News RSS ← Back
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

Tunisian court allows Mekki to return to presidential race

Close

Embed Video

Tunisian court allows Mekki to return to presidential race

27th August 2024

By: Reuters

SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

A Tunisian court on Tuesday upheld an appeal by prominent opposition politician Abdellatif Mekki, allowing him to resume his bid for the presidency in an election expected on October 6, judicial and political sources told Reuters.

The electoral commission had excluded Mekki from the race due to what it said was a lack of popular endorsements. A judicial official, Faycel Boguira, told Reuters that the court’s decision was final and could not be appealed.

Advertisement

Tunisia's administrative court will issue further rulings this week regarding other politicians who have filed appeals after the commission also rejected their candidacy papers. They include Mondher Zenaidi, Imed Daimi and Abir Moussi.

The court’s decision adds Mekki, head of the Action and Achievement Party, to a list of accepted candidates that also includes the incumbent, President Kais Saied, and politicians Ayachi Zammel and Zouhair Maghzaoui.

Advertisement

Mekki was a prominent official in the Islamist Ennahda party but left to found a rival party in 2022. However, he still enjoys widespread support among supporters of Ennahda, one of Tunisia's largest political parties.

"The court decision is fair and highlights the image of the administrative court, known for its integrity even in the darkest periods in Tunisia’s history," Ahmed Nafati, Mekki’s campaign manager, told Reuters.

Tunisian opposition parties, politicians and human rights groups have accused the authorities of using "arbitrary restrictions" and intimidation to help ensure the re-election of Saied.

They say the electoral commission is not neutral and is seeking to eliminate all serious competitors to pave the way for Saied's victory. The commission denies the accusations.

Saied, who dissolved parliament and seized control of all powers in 2021 in a move described by the opposition as a coup, said last year "he would not hand over the country to non-patriots".

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Email Registration Success

Thank you, you have successfully subscribed to one or more of Creamer Media’s email newsletters. You should start receiving the email newsletters in due course.

Our email newsletters may land in your junk or spam folder. To prevent this, kindly add newsletters@creamermedia.co.za to your address book or safe sender list. If you experience any issues with the receipt of our email newsletters, please email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za