Tunisian Presidential Candidate Zammel Re-arrested Shortly After Release From Detention
The arrested suspect is one of three candidates approved by Tunisia’s electoral commission to run in a presidential election on October 6, which opposition critics say is rigged in favour of President Kais Saied.
The Tunisian government on Friday morning rearrested a presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel for alleged electoral fraud shortly after he was released from detention.
The state news agency TAP disclosed this development to newsmen, revealing that the politician was initially arrested on Monday on suspicion of falsifying voter forms and a judge ordered him set free on Thursday.
However, his lawyers, Abdessatar Massoudi and Dalila Ben Mbarek, said he was arrested again immediately after his release from Borj El Amri prison, Reuters reports.
The arrested suspect is one of three candidates approved by Tunisia’s electoral commission to run in a presidential election on October 6, which opposition critics say is rigged in favour of President Kais Saied.
He was charged for falsifying voter forms for next month’s election. Each candidate must submit forms from 10,000 supporters to qualify to stand. He denies the allegation.
Zammel has said he faces restrictions and intimidation because he is a serious competitor to Saied. He has pledged to rebuild democracy, guarantee freedoms and fix Tunisia’s collapsing economy.
Saied was democratically elected in 2019, but then tightened his grip on power and began ruling by decree in 2021 in a move the opposition has described as a coup.
Major political factions say Saied’s years in power have eroded the democratic gains of Tunisia’s 2011 revolution.
Opposition parties and human rights groups have accused the authorities of using arbitrary restrictions to help ensure Saied’s re-election.
Along with Zammel and Saied, politician Zouhair Maghzaoui is approved to run in the election.
