A Tunisian court has sentenced presidential candidate and leader of the liberal Azimoun Party Ayachi Zammel to 20 months in prison after security forces arrested him two weeks ago on charges of falsifying voter signatures on his candidacy paperwork, allegations he claims were fabricated by President Kais Saied’s government.
Zammel’s sentencing has intensified opposition fears of a rigged election designed to secure Saied’s hold on power. Saied, who has been ruling by decree since 2021, has been accused by critics of using the judiciary and the electoral commission to suppress competition and sideline rivals.
Earlier this month, an electoral commission appointed by Saied disqualified three prominent presidential candidates, prompting protests from opposition and civil society groups. The commission’s actions have been widely criticised, particularly after it defied Tunisia’s administrative court—the country’s highest judicial body in election disputes—by allowing only three candidates: President Saied, Zammel, and Zouhair Magzhaoui, a politician viewed as an ally of the president.
Rights groups and legal experts have expressed concerns about the legitimacy and legality of the upcoming election. Saied, who was democratically elected in 2019, denies manipulating the process, maintaining that he is fighting corruption and that he will not become a dictator.
This is not the first time prominent political figures have faced imprisonment ahead of the election. Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, has been in prison since last year on charges of harming public security, while another major opposition figure, Lotfi Mraihi, was jailed earlier this year for vote-buying in the 2019 election. Both had announced plans to run in the 2023 election but were jailed before submitting their candidacies.
Last month, another court sentenced four more politicians who had planned to run for president to prison and imposed a lifetime ban on them standing as election candidates.