Amal Hilali - Tunisia

Tunisian presidential candidates continue their campaigns amid a fierce struggle to win the presidency, and corruption and arrest warrants have not prevented some from contesting entitlements from inside prisons or exile abroad.

Observers believe that the exceptional circumstances experienced by the country after the sudden death of the late President Beji Caid Essebsi, who hastened the organization of premature elections, contributed to the confusion of candidates and confusion of parties, both in power and outside.

While some candidates are running from outside Tunisia, such as independent candidate Salim Riahi, who is barred from entering the country due to court rulings, his rival Nabil Karoui is running from prison, after a warrant for his arrest in a money laundering case.

Tunisian media confirmed that the judicial authorities have invited the candidates Hamma Hammami, Lotfi Meraihi, and Obeid Braiki, to investigate with them complaints filed by citizens against them, concerning the falsification of signatures in order to collect the necessary recommendations to run.


In a statement, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest of candidate Nabil Karoui and his imprisonment in Mornaguia prison, in accordance with an arrest warrant issued against him, as the judicial and financial authorities had previously charged him with corruption and money laundering charges against a complaint filed by a regulatory organization since 2016.

Leaders of the "Heart of Tunisia" party stressed that the village president will not retreat from his candidacy for the presidential elections, and will run from inside his prison, while the Supreme Electoral Commission that the villager will remain as long as he is not issued a final verdict.

Candidate Salim Riahi is in the race after leaving Tunisia in late 2018, only to communicate with his supporters through his accounts on social networks and foreign media, and through his lawyer, who submitted his candidacy for the presidency on his behalf.

The candidate is chasing various court rulings. An appeals court in April issued a prison warrant against him on the basis of a complaint filed against him by Libyan parties relating mainly to financial and administrative corruption.


A member of Nidaa Tounes revealed that a decision was issued to prevent Riahi from entering Tunisia on the back of a complaint that was later filed by the man, as Secretary General of Nidaa Tounes, in 2018 to the military judiciary, against the prime minister and a group of security leaders, in which he accused them of attempting a coup The late President Essebsi.

Al-Sadeq's lawyer confirmed to Al-Jazeera Net that his client retains all his legal and moral fortunes as a presidential candidate even as he is in exile like the other candidates, denying all the charges against him, describing them as "malicious."

He stressed that Riahi will return in the coming days to Tunisia, to oversee his election campaign among his supporters, explaining his absence throughout this period "by completing all legal procedures that allow him to enter the Tunisian soil."

Their chances remain
On the handling of the Electoral Commission with the status of candidates prosecuted, stressed the member of the election Adel Albrinsi in his talk to Al Jazeera Net to stay in the race, as long as no judicial verdict has been issued and is not subject to appeal.

He did not conceal a sense of tension in the electoral environment, calling on the media to calm down, and "not to engage in defamation campaigns between opponents and raise tensions, which would distract the voter and push him to boycott the elections."

Electoral Law
For his part, Bassam Matar, vice president of the association "Atid" to monitor the integrity and democracy of the elections, the current climate, "exceptional", calling for the need to separate the judicial time and the electoral time, with regard to complaints against candidates sent to them before running, such as candidate Salim Riahi.

He wondered about the secret of postponing the decision against the candidate Nabil Karawi, which has been going on for three years, and choosing the date of the presidential elections to stop him, which opened the door for wide debate about the integrity of the electoral process and the independence of the judiciary.

The vice president of the Atid Association called on the authorities to expedite and resolve complaints against 11 presumed candidates on charges of falsifying the names and signatures of citizens, with the aim of collecting the largest number of recommendations, and appreciated the launching of judicial bodies in the investigation of all suspects in this regard.

He called for the need to review the electoral law with regard to the curriculum vitae of the candidates, free of any criminal record or infringement of public morals, and the need to memorize each candidate for the elections to prove "good conduct."

Burlesque and criticism
Complaints and issues related to candidates for the elections have infuriated a large part of Tunisians who expressed through social networks their anger and fear of the arrival of some names to power, despite the suspicions surrounding them.

He considered the political activist Iskandar Al-Rakik that the nomination of both Salim Riahi and Nabil Karoui for the presidency and membership of parliament his main goal of immunity, and the pursuit of impunity.

Activist Nabil Taqia mocked "the fever of chairs and positions in Tunisia. Even in exile, Slim Riahi is running for president under a power of attorney."

For her part, called on activist Nawal Tajouri to hold presidential candidates who falsified the recommendations of citizens, describing the crime as a crime against democracy.

According to the calendar set by the Electoral Commission, the final list of presidential candidates will be announced by August 31, while campaigning for candidates will start in early September, and will continue until the 13th of the same month.