Beirut — Potential Contenders Excluded, Convicted, Imprisoned
Tunisian authorities have prosecuted, convicted, or imprisoned at least eight prospective candidates for the October 6, 2024, presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. The electoral commission has approved only three candidates, including incumbent President Kais Saied. Tunisian authorities should urgently end politically motivated prosecutions and allow for free and fair elections.
Tunisia is gearing up for a presidential election amid increased repression of dissent and free speech, without crucial checks and balances on President Saied's power. President Saied has compromised the judiciary's independence and overhauled a number of key institutions following a 2021 power grab, including the electoral commission, the Independent High Authority for Elections (Instance Supérieure Indépendante pour les Élections, ISIE), which he restructured to place under the control of the president in 2022.
"After jailing dozens of prominent opponents and activists, Tunisian authorities have removed almost all serious contenders from the presidential race, reducing this vote to a mere formality," said Bassam Khawaja, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The government should immediately end its political interference in the electoral process, reverse repressive measures, and allow opposition candidates to take part in the ballot."
On August 10, the electoral commission announced it had preliminarily approved the three presidential candidates, including two former parliament members, Zouhair Maghzaoui and Ayachi Zammel. The head of the commission, whose seven members are nominated by the president, said it rejected 14 candidacies for lack of required endorsement signatures or financial guarantees, or for not meeting nationality criteria. Several candidates have filed appeals before the administrative court. By comparison, in the 2019 election, the electoral commission approved 26 candidates of various political affiliations.
At least eight prospective candidates have been convicted and sentenced to prison terms or lifetime bans on running for election since the start of the electoral period on July 14, with others experiencing harassment and intimidation.
On August 14, the Jendouba First Instance Court sentenced a rapper and businessman, Karim Gharbi, to four years in prison and imposed a lifetime ban on running for office, finding him guilty of charges of buying endorsement signatures. Gharbi had stated his intention to run for the presidency on July 26. Four people volunteering for Gharbi's campaign were sentenced to between two and four years in prison on August 2.
On August 5, a Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced five prospective presidential candidates to eight months in prison and a lifetime ban on running for office, on the charge of "making donations to influence voters" under article 161 of the electoral law, Mokhtar Jemai, one of the lawyers, told Human Rights Watch. They are Abdellatif Mekki, a politician; Nizar Chaari, a TV host; Mourad Messaoudi, a former judge; Mohamed Adel Dou, a retired military colonel; and Leila Hammami, an academic.
The candidates have appealed the decision, but Chaari and Messaoudi had announced their withdrawal as presidential candidates the day after their conviction. Three others were sentenced to eight months in prison on the same charge, including a member of Mekki's campaign and Chaari's campaign director, and another individual was sentenced to four years in prison.
That same day, a Tunis Court of First Instance also sentenced Abir Moussi, president of the Free Destourian Party (Parti Destourien Libre, PDL) and prominent opponent of Saied, to two years in prison, one of her lawyers, Nafaa Laribi, told Human Rights Watch. She was convicted of "spreading fake news and rumors" about the electoral commission, under article 24 of the repressive Decree-Law 54 on cybercrime, following a complaint from the electoral commission.
Moussi, who has been arbitrarily detained since October 2023, submitted her candidacy to the electoral commission just two days before the court convicted her. She faces several other prosecutions, including three based on complaints from the commission in connection with political statements or activities.
On July 18, a Tunis court sentenced Lotfi Mraihi, leader of the Republican People's Union and prospective presidential candidate, to eight months in prison and imposed a fine of 2000 Tunisian dinars (approximately US$650), as well as a lifetime ban on running for office for allegedly "making donations in cash or in kind in order to influence voters." His party's executive director and three other members were also convicted and sentenced.
Mraihi was previously arrested on July 3 allegedly on suspicion of money laundering, according to a Tunis court spokesperson. In January, a Tunis court had imposed a six-month suspended prison term under Decree-Law 54 for a comment he made on the radio that was deemed to criticize the president.
Other potential candidates remain in arbitrary detention such as Ghazi Chaouachi, former leader of the Attayar (Democratic Current) party, who announced his intention to run for election on July 15, and Issam Chebbi, leader of Al Jomhouri (The Republican Party), whose party eventually withdrew. Both have been detained since February 2023 and are awaiting trial on politically motivated charges of conspiracy against state security and terrorism. Over a dozen of members of Ennahda (The Renaissance Party), the former ruling party, including its president and two party vice presidents, are also arbitrarily detained.
Ten potential candidates on July 31 denounced "security harassment" and restrictions targeting members of their campaigns, including arrests and security force confiscation of endorsements. At least eight prospective candidates said that the Interior Ministry had failed to provide their criminal records, which are required to run for election, although the electoral commission president said that no candidate was rejected for lack of this document.
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On August 5, President Saied said: "No pressure has been exerted on anyone.... Those who speak of obstacles and difficulties ... seek to spread chaos, discord, rumors, and lies."
Under new regulations, presidential contenders are required to present a list of endorsement signatures from 10 members of parliament, 40 elected presidents of local governments, or 10,000 registered voters from at least 10 constituencies, with at least 500 voter signatures per constituency. The 2022 constitution also tightened nationality criteria, allowing only a Tunisian national, with Tunisian parents and paternal and maternal grandparents and no dual citizenship, to run for office.
Tunisia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and as such is required to ensure that every citizen, without discrimination on the basis of political opinion, has the opportunity to take part and vote in genuinely free elections. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found that "freedom of expression, assembly and association are essential conditions for the effective exercise of the right to vote and must be fully protected."
"By blocking prospective challengers, President Saied is burying what remains of Tunisia's democracy with this election," Khawaja said. "The international community should no longer remain silent and should urge the government to rectify an already tainted electoral process."
