Amal Hilali - Tunisia

Images of army officers used by presidential candidate and Defense Minister Abdul Karim al-Zubaidi in his campaign have sparked a wave of controversy among political circles and social networking pundits and criticism of the military's involvement in political tensions and electoral battles.

Al-Zubaidi published on his official Facebook page pictures and videos of his electoral activity, and another dealt with the career of the man accompanied by pictures of him with some generals in the army.

Target the candidate
Ruknuddin Fathallah, who is in charge of the media campaign for candidate Abdul Karim al-Zubaidi, told Al-Jazeera Net that Zubaidi's image with high-ranking military officials carried more than the man's opponents could endure in order to strike his image.

He stressed that the picture is old and accessible to all and was not photographed specifically in order to support the candidate, and was adopted in the context of addressing his career when he served more than a government plan, including the post of Defense Minister currently.

Fathallah denied any intention to involve the military or employ it to support Zubaidi's fortunes, stressing "respect for the laws of the military establishment and the candidate's keenness to stay on the neutrality that has been known for decades."

Military Dictionary
This is not the first incident of its kind in which criticism of Zubaidi, where he had exciting remarks referring to the dictionary of the military institution, when he revealed during a television interview that he intends to send two tanks in front of the House of Representatives to stop its sessions to protect - as he said - from a possible coup was planned Against the late President Kaid Essebsi.

The presence of the "military dictionary" in the statements and activities of Zubaidi electoral more than a question between the political and media aspects of the overlap of the army and politics in the mind of the man, and the repercussions if he came to power.

Mohammed al-Arabi al-Jlassi, director of the campaign's campaign, Mohammed Abbou, warned of what he called the continued employment of Zubaidi military institution, and the repercussions on the electoral climate, calling on Al Jazeera Net and the Ministry of Defense to stop what he described as serious abuses.

In a post, Ennahda MP Monia Ibrahim condemned what she said was "serious indications that there is a will to involve the national army in political life."

As a citizen and then a member of parliament, Ibrahim called on the military to clarify its position on Zubaidi's remarks and the use of images of generals in his campaign.

Republican Army
Since its founding in 1956, the Tunisian army has been known as a republican army that does not interfere in political or public life.The military has had honorable positions in protecting the revolution and siding with people's choices, and has not been attracted by the temptations of power unlike other Arab armies, observers say.

According to researcher in the history of the military and security establishment Faisal Cherif that the doctrine of the Tunisian army is to preserve the civilization of the state and its republican system, where the late President Habib Bourguiba to install a civilian man at the head of the Ministry of Defense.

Sharif said in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that the Tunisian army distanced itself throughout his career from the political affairs to exercise his role in protecting security and defend the sanctity of Tunisian soil from within the barracks.

The researcher suggested that Zubeidi wanted to present some pictures that included his activities in the Ministry of Defense to emphasize his knowledge and experience on the issue of national security and the protection of Tunisian sovereignty, which intersects with the mission of the President of the Republic as commander in chief of the armed forces.

He ruled out the success of any attempt to co-opt the army, stressing that the authority was lying on the side of the road during the escape of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, but the army, which was raised on the doctrine of the People's Republic and the revolution and the features of the civil state.

Electoral Commission position
With regard to the position of the Electoral Commission on the controversy left by the campaign Zubaidi candidate and accused of employing the military, Farouk Bouaskar, Vice President of the Electoral Commission for the island Net that a report on the subject will be edited and referred to the Board of the Commission for legal adjustment and take the appropriate decision.

Media faces and activists have also had attitudes toward engaging the military in political life, while others have warned of the repercussions.