Lyon (AFP)
Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, presidential candidate of 15 September, launched Saturday in Lyon his campaign abroad posing as a defender of human rights, a few days after the arrest of one of his main rivals.
"We want to talk to Tunisians to explain why we are in this presidential campaign, what are the objectives, what is our vision for a stronger Tunisia, a more modern and developed Tunisia, and a Tunisia that truly believes in universal values human rights, "said Youssef Chahed at AFPTV, before the meeting that was to be held late afternoon.
Asked about the arrest of the Tunisian candidate and businessman Nabil Karoui a few days ago, he said he was "for nothing in this affair", which according to him is "common law".
Tunisia, which has some 11 million inhabitants, has a large diaspora with 1.2 million Tunisians living abroad, mainly in Europe, said Mr. Chahed, 43, whose Tahya Tounes party, became the second force in the Parliament behind Ennahdha, resulting from the Islamist movement.
This meeting in the third city of France is held on the eve of the official start of the campaign in Tunisia, Sunday at midnight.
The arrest of Nabil Karoui, a controversial figure in the world of media, has raised tension in the run-up to the presidential election, an advance poll following the death in late July of the head of state Béji Caïd Essebsi.
Twenty-six candidates are running for the poll, including Chahed and Karoui, according to the final list presented Saturday by the Tunisian Elections Authority. The election campaign will take place from September 2 to 13 in Tunisia and began Saturday abroad.
Despite democratic progress after the fall of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and a fragile recovery in growth after years of slump, Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring, struggles to meet social expectations and bring down unemployment more by 15% and inflation by almost 7%.
In the previous presidential election in 2014, Tunisians residing in France had acclaimed Béji Caïd Essebsi and the outgoing president of then Moncef Marzouki, anchored on the left and former fierce opponent of Ben Ali.
© 2019 AFP