Tunisia groups urge inclusion of rejected candidates in poll

A petition signed by prominent Tunisians and civil society groups was published on Saturday urging that rejected candidates be allowed to stand in the October 6 presidential election. According to AFP it was signed by 26 groups, including Legal Agenda, Lawyers Without Borders, and the Tunisian Human Rights League; the groups welcomed an administrative court decision this week to reinstate three candidates who had been disqualified. They are Imed Daimi, who was an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki, former minister Mondher Zenaidi, and opposition party leader Abdellatif Mekki. The three were among 14 candidates barred by the Tunisian election authority, ISIE, from standing in the election.