By RFIPalled on 14-08-2019Modified on 14-08-2019 at 15:58

Twenty-six candidates were selected this Wednesday for the vote on September 15, out of the 97 nominations submitted. There are 24 men and two women. Candidates who have not been selected have until August 31 to file an appeal.

In Tunisia, the body responsible for elections, the ISIE, unveiled Wednesday the names of candidates who meet the conditions to stand for presidential election. A total of 26 candidates were selected out of 97 presented, including 24 men and two women.

No surprise in this list except the absence of LGBT candidate Mounir Baatour, whose application was rejected. On the other hand, expected names were retained , such as the founder of Nessma TV TV channel Nabil Karoui, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, vice president of Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha and Speaker of the National Assembly Abdel Fatah Mourou, or the Minister of Defense, Abdelkarim Zbidi, one of the favorites who presents himself as independent.

Some candidates did not get enough referrals. It was necessary to have either 10,000 signatures of voters or ten signatures of deputies, or 40 signatures of mayors.

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Some signatures have not been validated because the ISIE has installed a mechanism to control duplicates. Finally, it was necessary to deposit a deposit of 10,000 dinars, or more than 3,000 euros, which some candidates did not do.

The rejected candidates already had 48 hours before today to regularize their situation and after the publication of the preliminary list, they will have a few more days to appeal before the publication of the final list on August 31st.

Plethora of independent candidates

The number and diversity of personalities who have applied - a situation similar to what happened in 2014 - show in any case the democratic vitality of the country. Ten years ago, it was very difficult for a political rival of President Ben Ali to run for president.

Five years ago, there were 69 candidates at the beginning of the process and only 27 on the final list. This year, we also find a majority of independent candidates who come up against candidates from political parties, a trend that has been asserting since the 2018 municipal elections in which the independents won many town halls.

Great difference this year however: for now, no candidate really stands out, while in 2014, Beji Caid Essebssi, the deceased president, gathered around him. The games will be tighter for this election and, as some candidates have said, this can be played out in detail during the election campaign.

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