Electoral candidate jailed ahead of polls

Tunisian politician Ayachi Zammel, who was set to be a candidate in the north African country's presidential election yesterday, has been jailed for 12 years, his lawyer said, according to a report in the Voice of America. ‘The court in Tunis sentenced Ayachi Zammel to 12 years in prison in four cases’ related to voter endorsements, lawyer Abdessater Messoudi told AFP. The frontrunner in the elections is incumbent President Kais Saied, who was elected in 2019 but later orchestrated a sweeping power grab that included dissolving Parliament and replacing it with a legislature with limited powers. Former lawmaker Zammel heads a small liberal party, and had been one of just two candidates approved by Tunisia's electoral authority ISIE to challenge Saied for the top post. Ahead of the vote, ISIE had rejected the bids of some 14 hopefuls. It eventually presented a final list of just three candidates: Saied, former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Zammel. On 18 September, his lawyer said Zammel had been handed a 20-month prison term for charges related to forging voter endorsements.

Full Voice of America report