Tunisia election: Kais Saied seeks new presidential term with one candidate in jail

President Kais Saied, accused of suppressing democracy, only has two challengers and one is in jail.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifyUS ElectionElection pollsKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzSportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersTunisia's president seeks new term in election he's all but sure to winGetty ImagesTunisia's President Kais Saied, seen as a saviour by supporters and an autocrat by critics, is running for re-election on Sunday in a vote that he is all but certain to win.

More than a dozen politicians had hoped to challenge him, but the electoral commission approved only two additional names for the ballot paper.

And one of those, Ayachi Zammel, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for falsifying documents just five days before the poll.

Tunisia was where the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings against autocratic rulers in North Africa and the Middle East, began in late 2010. The country was seen as a beacon of democracy for the Arab world.

But since President Saied was elected on a wave of optimism in 2019, the 66-year-old has suspended parliament, rewritten the constitution and concentrated power into his hands.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9jwxxejkvo

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