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98 Candidates Running in Tunisia Presidential Election

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed (Reuters)
Tunisia’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed (Reuters)
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98 Candidates Running in Tunisia Presidential Election

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed (Reuters)
Tunisia’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed (Reuters)

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, leader of the secular Tahya Tounes party, submitted Thursday his candidacy for the presidential election expected to take place in September.

The September 15 vote comes after Beji Caid Essebsi, the first president to be democratically elected in Tunisia after the 2011 uprising, died last month aged 92.

Ninety-eight people had thrown their hats into the ring to be Tunisia's next president as the deadline ended Friday.

With the clock ticking down to the official for deadline applications, 13 people had rushed in their paperwork by midday Friday joining dozens who have already declared their interest, the country's election commission told AFP.

Tunisia’s Independent High Electoral Authority (ISIE) received 29 applications over the first five days from the beginning of the race on August 2 and 11 applications on the sixth day.

Defense Minister Abdul Karim al-Zubaidi resigned from his post after submitting his candidacy to run for the presidential elections on Wednesday.

However, Government spokesman Iyad Dahmani confirmed in a press statement that Chahed’s candidacy does not necessarily mean he must resign from his current post.

Dahmani pointed out that the premier will delegate his powers to a minister in the same government.

“It is impossible to form a government during this sensitive period, which is full of political deadlines,” he stressed.

The spokesman accused supporters of Chahed’s resignation of “attempting to overthrow the entire government and disrupt the presidential and parliamentary elections” in the country.

"Anyone who is seeking my resignation is in fact aiming to delay the elections and my resignation means the resignation of the government," Chahed said.

Local political sources have indicated that Chahed will delegate Kamel Morjane, former head of the Initiative Party that has fully merged with Tahya Tounes.

They explained that his move aims at satisfying those who have disapproved the unified electoral lists, whose members will run in the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 6.

Ennahda Party has nominated its Vice President Abdel Fattah Mourou to run in the presidential election for the first time since the country transitioned to democracy in 2011.

“You will choose a leader and a father for you...Someone who is not only passionate about his people but also wants to establish the state, preserve the law and help applying it to everyone,” Mourou addressed people, stressing that this could only be achieved with people’s help and understanding.

Ennahda Party had participated in 1989 parliamentary elections, which followed the rise of former President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali to power.

It accused the state back then with vote rigging and excluding them from the political scene.

During 23 years in power, the former regime did not allow members of the country’s opposition parties to participate in the presidential elections.

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Arab World

Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
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Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)

The Houthi militia has recently released several individuals it had abducted for celebrating Yemen’s September Revolution. However, over the past few days, it has detained hundreds of residents in its stronghold of Saada, accusing them of espionage.

The campaign coincides with the airing of alleged confessions from a purported spy cell and the abduction of a former employee of the US Embassy in Yemen.

Local sources in Saada province, approximately 242 kilometers north of Sanaa, report that the Houthis have launched a widespread campaign of arrests targeting civilians. These individuals have been taken from their homes, workplaces, and businesses under allegations of collaborating with Western nations and Israel. Families of those detained have been warned to remain silent and refrain from discussing the arrests with the media or on social media platforms.

According to the sources, more than 300 individuals, including dozens of women, have been abducted across various districts in Saada. The arrests have also targeted relatives and associates of Othman Mujalli, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, who hails from the region.

The sources suggest that the Houthis are detaining women as hostages to pressure their relatives, who may either be out of the militia’s reach or living outside Houthi-controlled areas. They also appear to be using the women to coerce confessions from male relatives. Last month, the Houthis accused Hamid Mujalli, Othman Mujalli’s brother, of engaging in espionage for Arab and Western nations for nearly two decades.

In a separate incident, the Houthis abducted a former employee of the US Embassy in Sanaa from his home on Monday without providing any explanation for their actions.

Release of Detainees

The Houthis recently released Sheikh Amin Rajeh, a tribal leader from Ibb province, after detaining him for four months. Several other individuals were also freed, none of whom had been formally charged during their detention. Rajeh, a member of the General People’s Congress Party, was one of many political activists, students, workers, and public employees abducted in September for celebrating Yemen’s September 26, 1962, revolution.

One of the released individuals, a shop owner, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was unaware of the reason for his detention. He had been abducted in November, two months after the Houthis initiated a crackdown on those commemorating the revolution.

Alleged Spy Cell

Houthi-controlled media recently broadcast confessions from what they claimed was a newly uncovered spy cell. The group linked the cell to its broader narrative of “promised conquest and sacred jihad” against the West and Israel.

According to Houthi security officials, the alleged spy cell was working to compile a “target database,” monitor sites linked to missile forces and drones, and track specific military and security locations. They also claimed the cell had been observing the residences and movements of Houthi leaders.

In response, the Houthis issued warnings to residents, forbidding them from discussing or sharing information about militia-controlled sites, facilities, or the whereabouts of their leaders.

The Houthis’ actions reflect mounting concerns over potential strikes targeting their senior leadership, similar to the recent attacks on Hezbollah figures in Lebanon. Those fears come amid ongoing tensions with Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom, following the Houthis’ assaults on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and missile attacks on Israel.