Tunisian Administrative Court Rejects All Appeals in Presidential Election Disputes

The Administrative Court in Tunisia has rejected all appeals submitted by presidential candidates against the decision of the Independent High Authority for Elections to exclude their candidacy files.

According to a statement issued by the court, all seven appeals made by the aggrieved candidates against the decisions of the Electoral Commission were rejected. However, the court’s decisions can still be appealed in the second stage of litigation.

The Independent High Authority for Elections had announced the acceptance of three candidacy files, including that of the current president, Kais Saied, who is strongly running for a second term, while 14 candidacy files were rejected due to the lack of required official documents, mainly the necessary number of public endorsements. The final list of candidates is expected to be announced after the appeal and litigation stages conclude on September 3rd.

Some candidates complained about “administrative constraints” that hindered the completion of their candidacy files. The campaign team of prominent politician Abdellatif Mekki, whose candidacy was rejected, stated that they would appeal the court’s decision.

The presidential elections are scheduled for October 6th.