The Tunisian Administrative Court has confirmed the reinstatement of notable candidate Mondher Znaidi into the presidential contest scheduled for October 6, marking this as the second reinstatement this week and intensifying the competition faced by President Kais Saied.
Earlier, the court also reversed the disqualification of Abdellatif Mekki, which had been imposed by the electoral commission. Judicial official Faycel Bouguera stated that the decision made on Thursday is conclusive and cannot be appealed.
Znaidi, who previously served as a minister under the Ben Ali regime, plans to bridge national divides that have deepened under Saied’s rule and during the Islamist governance after the revolution.
He seeks to draw support from both critics of Saied and adherents of the old government. Znaidi is among the approved candidates for the election, a list that also includes President Saied, Ayachi Zammel, Zouhair Maghzaoui, and Abdelattif Mekki.
Opposition groups have criticized the electoral commission for what they perceive as biased and capricious limitations designed to favor Saied’s re-election, an allegation the commission rejects.
Saied, who assumed comprehensive executive powers in 2021 by dissolving the parliament, has declared his refusal to concede governance to those he considers ‘non-patriots’.
The Administrative Court initially decided the fate of the presidential candidates rejected by the Higher Independent Electoral Commission, who had appealed against the decision to reject their candidacies. The court has rejected all the appeals, thus endorsing the decisions of the Electoral Commission.
The court rejected seven appeals in the first instance of litigation for the 2024 presidential election from six candidates, for various procedural reasons related to the lack of the required number of popular or parliamentary endorsements, absence of the necessary financial guarantee for candidacy, or issues with the nationality conditions required for the candidate.
