By Enyichukwu Enemanna
For the third time in two weeks, Tunisian opposition presidential candidate, Ayachi Zammel has been sentenced to prison, his lawyer has stated.
His 12 years jail sentence is coming ahead of the country’s October 6 presidential election in which the incumbent President Kais Saied is seeking re-election.
The latest imprisonment is related with voter endorsement, his legal representative, Abdessater Massoudi said on Tuesday.
Zammel, a former lawmaker who heads a small liberal party, was jailed in four count charges in connection with voter endorsement.
Heritage Times HT reports that to be enlisted on the ballot, candidates are required to present a list of signatures either from 10,000 registered voters, 10 parliamentarians or 40 local officials, as indication of their popularity among the voters.
Last week, a court of first instance, the Criminal Chamber of the Jendouba sentenced Zammel to six months for “deliberately using a fraudulent certificate,” according to Tunisia’s TAP news agency.
In reaction to the judgement, his lawyer said it was “another unjust ruling and a farce that clearly aims to weaken him in the election race” pledging to defend Zammel’s right to take part in the election.
On September 18, his lawyer said Zammel had been handed a 20-month prison term for falsifying the signatures to submit his candidacy papers for the presidential poll.
In early September, Tunisia’s electoral authority ISIE announced that Zammel had fulfilled the requirement to stand for the election on Saturday, just shortly after he was arrested Sept 2.
The electoral body disqualified 14 other aspirants for the election, leaving only Zammel and Zouhair Maghzaoui, of the left-wing nationalist People’s Movement, to challenge Saied.
Opposition and civil society groups have been expressed concerns about a potentially rigged election, designed to keep President Kais Saied who was first elected in 2019 in power.
In 2021, he orchestrated a sweeping power grab, shutting down parliament and ruling by decree.
He has jailed several opposition figures who had indicated interest to challenge him at the poll.
Heritage Times HT reports that the North African country has come under heavy political tension after the electoral body instituted by Saied disqualified three prominent presidential candidates, Mondher Znaidi, Abdellatif Mekki and Imed Daimi.
Last week, the National Assembly stripped the administrative court of its authority to adjudicate electoral disputes, a move that the opposition says would discredit the upcoming election and pave the way for Saied to secure a second term.
