Tunisia court grants appeal allowing former minister to run for president

A Tunisian court said it overturned the rejection of a former minister's presidential candidacy on Thursday, allowing him to stand in the 6 October election.

Mondher Zenaidi, 73, an opponent of incumbent President Kais Saied, was among 14 candidates the High Independent Authority for Elections, or ISIE, barred from running due to insufficient ballot signatures.

"The administrative court decided on Thursday to accept in form and substance the appeal filed by Mondher Zenaidi and to overturn the decision of the ISIE," court spokesman Faycel Bouguerra told AFP.

Earlier this week, the administrative court also granted an appeal by another rejected hopeful, Abdellatif Mekki, also a former minister.

The electoral authority has yet to confirm whether Zenaidi will stand in the election. It is set to announce a final list of candidates next week.

ISIE head Farouk Bouasker told local media that "the authority's council will meet to review these rulings".

The ISIE, he said, would "make a decision on the final list, taking into consideration judicial judgements already pronounced".

So far, the authority has said it had approved only three candidates.

Former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Ayachi Zammel have been confirmed as challengers to Saied.

As a former minister under ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted in the 2011 uprisings, Zenaidi has presented his experience as an asset for debt-stricken Tunisia.

Experts deem him as a significant contender to challenge Saied, with an ability to gain votes from main opposition parties, including the Islamist-inspired Ennahda party.

Saied, who was democratically elected in 2019 but orchestrated a sweeping power grab in 2021, is seeking a second presidential term.

A number of his political opponents and critics are currently in jail or being prosecuted.

On Thursday, the administrative court also said it rejected an appeal by Abir Moussi, a jailed would-be candidate and a staunch critic of Saied.

Last week, Human Rights Watch said Tunisian authorities "have prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned at least eight prospective candidates" for October's vote.

The North African country under Saied was "gearing up for a presidential election amid increased repression of dissent and free speech, without crucial checks and balances on President Saied's power", HRW added.