Tunisian politician Ayachi Zammel, a candidate in the upcoming presidential election scheduled for October 6, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to his lawyer, Abdessater Messoudi. The court in Tunis convicted Zammel on multiple charges related to voter endorsements.
Despite the sentence, Messoudi confirmed that Zammel will remain a candidate in the election. Zammel, who leads a small liberal party, was one of only two candidates approved by Tunisia’s electoral authority, ISIE, to challenge the incumbent president, Kais Saied.
President Saied, who came to power in 2019, has been criticized for consolidating power through significant political maneuvers, including dissolving parliament and establishing a new legislature with restricted authority.
Ahead of the election, ISIE rejected the candidacies of around 14 other hopefuls, ultimately narrowing the list to three candidates: Saied, former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui, and Zammel.
Just weeks prior, on September 18, Zammel was also handed a separate 20-month prison term for charges linked to forging voter endorsements.