Abir Moussi Submits Candidacy for Tunisian Presidency from Prison

Members of the defense team of Abir Moussi, head of the Free Destourian Party, submitted on Saturday her candidacy for the presidency of Tunisia to the Independent High Authority for Elections.

The elections are set for October 6.

One of her lawyers said the file has nearly all the required documents.

Moussi, a lawyer and activist, was arrested in front of the presidential palace in October 2023 when she filed an appeal against a presidential decree that she said paralyzed state institutions.

She faces another complaint from the elections authority over remarks that questioned its integrity.

Several opposition members have been jailed on various charges, such as conspiring against the state.

The opposition accuses President Kais Saied and the authorities of exerting pressure on its candidates and undermining democracy.

Saied announced on July 19 that he would seek another five-year term. Elected in 2019, Saied dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree in a move the opposition described as a coup. He has said he will not hand over power to what he calls “non-patriots”.

As an Aug. 6 deadline for registering as a presidential candidate looms, 11 opposition figures who hope to run against Saied issued a joint statement this week criticizing the authorities, Reuters reported.

“The violations have affected most of the serious candidates to the point that they appear to indicate a desire to exclude them (from the election) and restrict them in order to make way for a specific candidate,” they said in the joint statement.

None of the 11 opposition candidates have yet obtained a document certifying that they have no criminal record – a new condition – which will then allow them to register.