Tunisians to protest autocracy ahead of presidential election

On September 13, 2024, news from Tunis. Tunisians are expected to take to the streets on Friday to protest the chaos facing the country's upcoming elections. Some candidates have been arrested, removed from the ballot or banned from politics for life.

The newly established "Tunisian Network for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms" hopes to draw attention to the so-called rise of autocracy. The secretary-general of the Tunisian Human Rights League, Mochidine Lagha, said the protest is a response to the violation of Tunisian rights and freedoms and also because some citizens have been deprived of the right to participate in the presidential election.

There is a dispute between the independent high electoral management body and judges in the North African country Tunisia over which candidates can appear on the ballot in the October 6 election. The commission has been criticized for lacking independence and is accused of acting on behalf of President Kais Saied who appointed its members. The commission has refused organizations that applied to be election observers and has not added three candidates who won in court appeals. Among them is former health minister Abdel Latif Mekki. He was once a member of the Islamist Ennahda movement and is now running with his own party. He was arrested in July and banned from politics for life. Although the court ordered the electoral management body to include him on the ballot and his candidacy was restored for a second time, the body rejected the court's ruling and did not comment on the recent ruling.

Mekki's campaign manager called on the people to participate in the protest, saying that Tunisians will not give up their right to free and democratic elections. Saied has overturned Tunisia's political landscape in recent months by dismissing most of the cabinet members. His critics have condemned the arrests and gag orders against major opposition figures as politically motivated. The International Crisis Group said the situation in Tunisia is "deteriorating." Human Rights Watch called on the electoral commission to restore the eligibility of these candidates, saying that holding elections under such repression is a mockery of the rights of Tunisians.