Tunisian Court Prisons Opposition Leader Over Case Of Buying Votes For Presidential Election

Hotel In Chapter Bhar, Tunisia/ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/Hammami Ghazi

JAKARTA - The Tunisian court sentenced opposition party leader Lotfi Mraihi to eight months in prison on charges of purchasing votes.

The court also barred Mraihi, leader of the Republican Union Party and one of the most prominent critics against President Kais Saied, from running for president, his lawyer, Omar Ismail, said.

Mraihi will appeal the sentence, reported by Reuters, Friday, July 19.

Opposition parties, most of whose leaders were jailed, accused Saied's government of putting pressure on courts to crack down on rivals in the 2024 elections and pave the way for him to win a second term.

Elected president in 2019, Saied has not officially announced his candidacy for the election which is expected to be held on October 6, but is widely expected to run for a second term.

He said last year he would not hand over power to what he called non-patriots.

Opposition authorities say fair and credible elections cannot be held unless jailed politicians are released and media are allowed to carry out their duties without pressure from the government.

In 2021 Saied dissolved parliament and began to rule by decree in actions deemed by the opposition to be a coup.

Saied said his steps were legitimate and necessary to end years of rampant corruption among political elites.