Khamis Ben Brik-Tunisia

The campaign dynamics of candidates for early presidential elections in Tunisia were characterized by a stagnation at the beginning of its first day, as it was limited to hanging pictures of candidates and their electoral statements in the streets of cities, while major cities attracted some prominent candidates from different currents and trends.

The campaign will be between September 2 and 13, with the date of the 14th of the same month being the day of electoral silence, and the 15th of which is the date for holding the second presidential elections after the revolution after the 2014 elections in which the late Beji Kaid Essebsi came to power in the second round.

Twenty-six candidates from conservative Islamist currents, revolutionary forces, secular, modernist, leftist, populist, independent and pro-regime figures are competing for the presidency of the Carthage Palace, including two women.

In the first move of their campaign, the city of Sfax (south) and one of its largest cities will compete late Monday, the candidate of the Renaissance movement Sheikh Abdel Fattah Moro and former President Moncef Marzouki for the electoral tank in this city, which has about one million inhabitants and is one of the most active cities in the economic level.

Dispersion sounds
Although Marzouki won the 2014 elections with the support of Ennahda voters in the first and second round against Essebsi, this time he will face a heavyweight competitor from within Ennahda, which decided to nominate one of its leaders for the first time.

Observers believe that the advancement of more than a prominent candidate belonging to the Islamic trend or affiliated with the forces of the revolution is distracting the voices of this spectrum. Candidates vying for the family's votes include former Prime Minister and resigning Secretary-General of the Ennahda movement Hamadi Jebali.

The centrist family also suffers from a large number of candidates from this stream, with the emergence of the candidate of the party "Long live Tunisia" current Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, Minister of Defense Abdel Karim Zubeidi and former Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa, former Secretary-General of the "Nidaa Tounes" and founder of the "Project Tunis Mohsen Marzouk, and others.

Analysts believe that the many candidates from the same family - without agreeing to give way to a consensus figure among them - will distract their voices. This has left three parties, including Labor leader Hama Hammami, on the left.

Birthmark and companion
The leftist leader of the United Patriotic Democrats (UDP) is also competing with his old companion, Hama Hammami, in the presidential race. The adherence of the parties to their candidacy has split the opposition Popular Front, which is composed of several small left-wing parties.

Hamma Hammami, who received about 260,000 votes in the 2014 elections, is campaigning from the southern city of Gabes, which is suffering from environmental pollution due to phosphate refineries. While his old companion Rahoui chose to start his campaign from his home in the city of Jendouba (northwest) adjacent to the Algerian border.

As for the prime minister, he chose to launch his campaign from the southernmost province of Tataouine to present his electoral platform and highlights his bets, while his rival Abdel Karim al-Zubaidi set off from the village of Regesh (his hometown) in the city of Mahdia (central east).

Candidate Nabil Karoui, who is in pre-trial detention at the Mornaguia prison in Algiers for money laundering, has chosen to campaign through his party, the Heart of Tunis, from the southern city of Gafsa, while businessman Salim Riahi is also involved in corruption cases from France.

Slow motility
Apart from the major popular rallies organized by leading candidates in a number of cities from north to south, the election campaign on the first day did not witness a strong movement, which was limited to hanging pictures of candidates and their electoral statements in some street facades.

Most of the candidates did not comment their pictures and statements in the spaces allocated to the walls, and some violations and abuses have emerged since the first day with the tearing of pictures of some candidates, at a time when the Electoral Commission seeks to extend the law and reduce unethical competition and tension of the electoral climate.

On his view of the electoral climate and the programs of candidates, taxi driver Mangi Al-Salmi says that he has become afraid of the country because of what he described as a mafia war between some candidates who seek to exclude their opponents depending on state agencies.

"I am tired of the elections because all the faces competing for this responsibility are to serve their personal interests, not to serve the interests of the citizens whose lives have deteriorated," he said.

On the other hand, student Mona Rakik told Al Jazeera Net that she would be keen to give her vote to the candidate who trusts in his loyalty to the homeland and in his electoral program, attributing the reluctance of some voters to vote to a deep crisis of confidence between politicians and citizens.

On the other hand, member of the Independent Electoral Commission, Adel Al-Princi, said that they are working to monitor irregularities during the election campaign regarding financial spending on the election campaign or monitoring the political discourse. ".

He told Al-Jazeera Net that the competition for the electoral entitlement began as early as before the start of the legal date of the campaign, noting that the Electoral Commission was aware of the existence of a premature election campaign of several candidates and it called for the existence of an ethical charter between the candidates to calm things and purify the political atmosphere and establish a favorable climate Competition allows the voter to go to the polls and not be alienated.

He concluded by saying that his body earlier called on competitors not to go down the level of competitive rhetoric and non-disclosure of secrets and desist from distortions between some of the competitors, but it continued without stopping, referring to this unethical competition fueled to the media fall and the alignment of media with interests intersecting with candidates against Other candidates.