Tunisia Issues 380 Verdicts in 'Electoral' Crimes

Tunisian election workers count votes of a second-round runoff of a presidential election in Tunis, October 14. (Reuters)
Tunisian election workers count votes of a second-round runoff of a presidential election in Tunis, October 14. (Reuters)
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Tunisia Issues 380 Verdicts in 'Electoral' Crimes

Tunisian election workers count votes of a second-round runoff of a presidential election in Tunis, October 14. (Reuters)
Tunisian election workers count votes of a second-round runoff of a presidential election in Tunis, October 14. (Reuters)

Tunisia's Court of Accounts issued more than 370 preliminary rulings subject to appeal against some parliamentary candidates in cases related the 2019 elections, announced judge Fadela Karkouri.

Karkouri said the defendants were found guilty of committing electoral crimes, denying issuing an appeal in these cases.

Recent reports claimed the Court of Accounts issued a ruling to dissolve two or more parties, in reference to Ennahda movement, the Heart of Tunisia party, and the Tahya Tounes alliance.

The judge clarified that it is not within the court's jurisdiction to dissolve any party but rather to investigate violations and issue sentences related to the electoral campaign.

The court has been accused of slowing down in arranging the legal penalties of the electoral violations that were monitored.

Karkouri explained that the judicial track of electoral violations started in October 2020 with investigations into the matter.

The investigative judges prepared reports on the results of their work, which were sent to the representatives of the concerned electoral lists and the candidates, and they were given a two-month legal period to submit their responses, as stipulated by Tunisian law.

Karkouri called for the need to review the electoral law to simplify the procedures and shorten the litigation deadlines to meet the nature of the electoral material.

She also stressed the need to establish an effective penal system so that the judiciary is effective and can intervene more efficiently.

Last Thursday, President Kais Saied called on the judiciary to speed up preparing the legal results of the electoral crimes committed in 2019.

Saied stressed the need to eliminate several electoral lists that ran for the previous legislative elections after authorities received the financial statements.



Smoke Rises from Beirut’s Southern Suburbs after Night of Israeli Attacks

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Smoke Rises from Beirut’s Southern Suburbs after Night of Israeli Attacks

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Smoke rose from Beirut’s southern suburbs Saturday morning and the streets were empty after the area was pummeled overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes.

Attacks on alleged Hezbollah targets by fighter jets Friday continued into the early hours Saturday after the Israeli army said it told residents to evacuate several buildings it was targeting.

Explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs, with flames lighting up the pre-dawn darkness. Fires raged from several locations, and smoke and flames were seen from above Beirut early Saturday.

Residents reported jets flying overhead.

In a short statement, the Israeli military described the sites it hit as belonging to Hezbollah.

Shelters set up in the city center for people displaced by the onslaught were overflowing. Many families slept in public squares and beaches, or in their cars. On the roads leading to the mountains above the capital, hundreds of people could be seen making an exodus on foot, holding infants and whatever belongings they could carry.

The Israeli military said a missile fired at central Israel on Saturday had struck an open area. Earlier, the military said about 10 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and that some had been intercepted.

The Israeli military also said it was striking Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley, a region of eastern Lebanon at the Syrian border that it has pounded over the last week.

On Saturday, an airstrike also hit the Lebanese mountain town of Bhamdoun, southeast of Beirut.

The strike hit a large empty lot and did not cause any casualties.