Tunisian presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel has been placed in police custody on allegations of falsifying details related to his campaign for the upcoming election, according to local media reports on Monday.
The prosecutor’s office in Manouba, located west of the capital Tunis, ordered Zammel’s detention for 48 hours, along with a manager from his electoral campaign, due to suspicions of forging endorsement signatures. This is a requirement under Tunisian law to demonstrate sufficient support to qualify as a candidate.
Zammel, who is one of only two candidates approved to challenge incumbent President Kais Saied in the October 6 election, was arrested outside Tunis earlier on Monday, according to his campaign team.
The detention follows the arrest of the treasurer of Zammel’s Azimoun party last month on similar charges. Under Tunisian election law, candidates must secure endorsements from either 10,000 registered voters, 10 parliamentarians, or 40 local officials to be eligible to stand for election.
Meanwhile, Tunisia’s electoral board, ISIE, rejected the appeals of three other presidential hopefuls whose initial disqualification had been overturned by the administrative court last week. Despite the court ruling, ISIE insisted its initial list of candidates was final and could not be appealed.
President Saied, who came to power in 2019, has faced criticism since his 2021 power grab, where he dismissed the government and assumed executive authority. His actions have drawn concerns over the integrity of Tunisia’s electoral process, especially with several candidates either imprisoned or facing prosecution ahead of the vote.
Human Rights Watch has documented at least eight prospective candidates being prosecuted, convicted, or detained. Civil society groups and prominent Tunisians have petitioned for all rejected candidates to be allowed to run, arguing that the administrative court’s rulings are binding.
However, ISIE’s decision to finalize the candidate list on Monday has dampened these efforts, leading to increased concerns over the transparency and fairness of the upcoming election.