Presidential polls in Tunisia have gotten off to a rocky start with critics denouncing a crackdown that has seen opponents of leader Kais Saied arrested, jailed and blocked from running. Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to register for the 6 October vote.
Prominent rival Abir Moussi, 49, head of the Free Destourian Party, was sentenced to two years in prison late Monday. He has already been in jail since October.
The former parliament member is a vocal critic of Saied, who has been in power since 2019.
Six other potential candidates have also been sentenced to prison, and several have been banned from running for life.
Among those recently arrested were Issam Chebbi, leader of the centrist party Al Joumhouri, and Ghazi Chaouchi, head of the social-democratic party Democratic Current.
These politicians are part of a group of over 20 of Saied's opponents detained since a series of arrests in February 2023.
Last week, four women working on the presidential campaign of rapper-turned-businessman Karim Gharbi (known as K2Rhym) were jailed for allegedly buying endorsement signatures.
Additionally, three staffers from media personality Nizar Chaari's campaign have been detained on similar suspicions, which Chaari has denied.
'Intimidation'
A group of NGOs last week denounced the "arbitrary detention" of candidates, a lack of independence of the electoral authority, and the "monopolisation of the public space."
They claim these measures were aimed at boosting Saied's re-election bid.
The Intersection NGO, which focuses on human rights and freedoms, has documented cases of imprisonment for expressing opinions in Tunisia since January 2024.
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"Thirty arrests fell under Decree 54, a repressive decree that was promulgated to combat cyber-criminality, but which in fact targets anyone who expresses an opinion critical of the government," Ghaylen Jelassi, one of the report's authors, told RFI's correspondent in Tunis.
"This decree has even affected artists such as the young Rached Tamboura who has been in prison for over a year for graffiti on the President of the Republic," he added.
The deadline for registering as a presidential candidate was 6 August.
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Saied submitted his candidacy for the upcoming election on Monday amid criticism from the opposition and the press.
The 66-year-old described his candidacy as part of "a war of liberation and self-determination" to establish a new republic.
"We are in a war of liberation and we don't want to restrict anyone's freedoms," Saied said. "I did not interfere with the judiciary."
Saied's challengers face significant constraints, with several would-be candidates in prison or being prosecuted.
However, Saied, who assumed wide-ranging powers two years after his 2019 election, denies repressing critical voices.
"I did not oppress anyone, and the law applies to everyone equally," he said. "I am here as a citizen to run for office."
"We will not accept any foreign party interfering in the choices of our people."
(with newswires)
