Tunisia- The Administrative Court announced thatTunisiaToday, Monday, the court announced its initial rejection of the appeals submitted by presidential election candidates, whose files were initially rejected by the electoral commission on the grounds that they did not meet the requirements. While some of them are pinning their hopes on the court to accept their appeals, observers rule this out.
After the nomination period closed on August 6, the Administrative Court received 7 appeals against the decisions of the Election Commission, which opponents accuse of bias towards the president. Qais Saeed Seeking to renew his term, despite her denial of these accusations and her assertion that she stands on an equal footing with the various candidates for the presidential elections.
These appeals were submitted to the Administrative Court by Abir Moussi, the head of the Free Constitutional Party, who is detained in the women’s prison, and political activist Monzer Zenaidi, who currently resides in… FranceNaji Jalloul, former Minister of Education, Abdel Latif Al-Makki, Secretary-General of the Action and Achievement Party, Head of the Monitoring Observatory, Imad Al-Daimi, and candidate Bashir Al-Aouani.
The electoral commission initially accepted only the files of three candidates for the presidential elections, namely: Ayachi Zemmal, Secretary-General of the “Azemoun” movement and former leader of the Tahya Tounes party, and Zuhair Al-Maghzaoui, Secretary-General of the People’s Movement (a party with an Arabist Nasserist orientation), in addition to Qais Saeed Current President.
Continue to appeal
Some candidates are still pinning their hopes on being treated fairly in the appeal phase before the general session of the Administrative Court, where some of them have announced that they will continue the appeal process, such as the Secretary-General of the Action and Achievement Party, Abdel Latif Al-Makki, and Mondher Al-Zanaidi, the politician who held ministerial positions during the era of the former president. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Following the issuance of the Administrative Court’s initial rulings, today, Monday, regarding the appeals of these candidates against the decisions of the Election Commission, social media sites were filled with comments that considered the court’s decision correct on the grounds that it was based on legal foundations, while others expressed their dissatisfaction with what they considered the court’s submission to the whims of the ruling authority.
Some people on social media considered that the court’s rejection of the appeals in form or substance at the initial stage was based on deficiencies in the candidates’ files, whether in terms of completing the required documents, collecting endorsements, or the presence of formal irregularities in the appeal file, or the appeal being submitted outside the legal deadlines.
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While others expressed their disappointment with the court’s decision, considering it unjust and reflecting the state of fear that has spread in the judiciary sector from President Saied’s authority, stressing that the court rejected many appeals on the basis of the most trivial matters without considering the substance of the appeals, which consider that the electoral commission adopted a restrictive approach regarding candidacies.
Independence of the judiciary?
For his part, the leader of the Democratic Current Party, Hisham Al-Ajbouni, believes that the rejection of all appeals by the Administrative Court reflects the situation of the Tunisian judiciary, whose independence from the ruling authority has been undermined by the decrees issued by President Saied, by which he granted himself the mechanism for dismissing judges with the stroke of a pen.
He told Al Jazeera Net that the attack on the independence of the judiciary included the administrative judiciary as a result of the executive authority’s interference in the judicial system, as Saied stipulated in his 2022 constitution that “the judiciary is a function and not an authority,” in addition to intimidating judges after dozens of them were dismissed and employed in the prison of politicians and journalists.
Al-Ajbouni hopes that the Administrative Court will do justice to some candidates at the appeal stage, but he is also skeptical because of the general climate characterised by restrictions on candidates with unfair conditions imposed by the Elections Commission through regulatory orders that violate the law, in addition to the imprisonment of opponents, journalists and others, according to his expression.
In turn, lawyer and human rights activist Al-Ayachi Al-Hammami says that it is not possible to rush to judge the independence of the Administrative Court until the final appeal rulings are issued by the general session of the court, adding that “the issuance of the appeal rulings will give us an idea of whether the climate of fear has reached the Administrative Court.”
He also confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that it is necessary to wait for the final appeal rulings to know whether the administrative judiciary has been controlled like the judicial judiciary by the head of state, noting that the Administrative Court had issued a positive ruling in 2022 to suspend the implementation of the decision to dismiss 49 judges out of a total of 57 judges whom President Saied had ordered to be dismissed.
Hamma Hammami: The presidential elections will be a farce and #Qais_Saeed Looking for a pledge of allegiance, not elections#Aljazeera_Live #Tunisia pic.twitter.com/xl1sYQJqLR
– Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) August 18, 2024
President’s competitors
Regarding the chances of the remaining candidates competing with President Saied in the election race if all the appeals are rejected, Al-Hammami says that the chances of candidates Al-Ayachi Al-Zamal and Zuhair Al-Maghzaoui are good in creating a serious dynamic for the rotation of power.
He believes that they can expand their popular base, whether from the right, the left, or those who reject the deteriorating situation in the country, if they establish a discourse and a program that opens the door to hope for Tunisians to restore democracy and development, but he adds, “In truth, I am not sure if the president will let the elections take place if he is certain of the possibility of removing him.”
In this context, the leader of the Democratic Current Party, Hisham Al-Ajbouni, says that the ability of the candidates to compete with President Saied in the election race is linked to their program and political priorities, especially in relation to the 2022 constitution that the president drafted “to suit him”, but he believes that they have ample chances of winning.
He explained that the files of the two candidates, Zamal and Maghazaoui, were finally accepted due to the absence of any appeal against them, stressing that the absence of any achievements by President Saied over the course of 5 years and his restriction of freedoms make one of his competitors capable of winning if there is no boycott of the elections.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the names of the candidates finally after completing all stages of appeals on September 4, after which the election campaign phase will begin, awaiting the presidential elections on October 6, 2024.
