Tunisian electoral commission rejects more than a dozen candidates for presidential election

On Sunday, Tunisia's electoral commission approved just three candidates for the upcoming presidential election scheduled for October 4th, according to a report from Reuters.

The approved candidates include incumbent President Kais Saied, his ally Zouhair Magzhaoui, and the relatively unknown Ayachi Zammel, leader of the Azimoun party.

Several prominent political figures, who have been detained by Saied over the past year, claim they were unfairly disqualified. They argue that their exclusion was due to not receiving a required letter from the interior ministry, which detailed their criminal records—a new rule introduced by Saied as a precondition for candidacy.

However, the head of the electoral commission disputes this claim, stating that the candidates were rejected for failing to secure the minimum number of voter endorsements necessary to run.

Opposition groups accuse Saied of manipulating the rules to ensure his victory and to block potential competitors. Meanwhile, rights organizations view the commission's decision as yet another move to consolidate Saied's power and stifle any criticism of his increasingly authoritarian governance.