TUNIS: A petition signed by prominent Tunisians and civil society groups was published on Saturday urging that rejected candidates be allowed to stand in the October 6 presidential election.
Signed by 26 groups including Legal Agenda, Lawyers Without Borders and the Tunisian Human Rights League, it welcomed an administrative court decision this week to reinstate three candidates who had been disqualified.
They are Imed Daimi, who was an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki, former minister Mondher Zenaidi and opposition party leader Abdellatif Mekki.
The three were among 14 candidates barred by the Tunisian election authority, ISIE, from standing in the election.
If they do take part, they will join former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Ayachi Zammel in challenging incumbent President Kais Saied, whom critics accuse of authoritarianism.
Saied was democratically elected in 2019 but orchestrated a sweeping power grab in 2021.
A number of his political opponents and critics are currently in jail or being prosecuted.
Saturday’s petition was also signed by more than 180 civil society figures including Wahid Ferchichi, dean of the public law faculty at Carthage University.
It called the administrative court “the only competent authority to adjudicate disputes related to presidential election candidacies.”
The petition referred to statements by ISIE head Farouk Bouasker, who on Thursday indicated that the authority will soon meet to finalize the list of candidates, “taking into consideration judicial judgments already pronounced.”
This has been interpreted as suggesting the ISIE may reject new candidacies if they are the subject of legal proceedings or have convictions.
The administrative court’s rulings on appeals “are enforceable and cannot be contested by any means whatsoever,” the petition said.
It called on the electoral authority to “respect the law and avoid any practice that could undermine the transparency and integrity of the electoral process.”
Last week, Human Rights Watch said Tunisian authorities “have prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned at least eight prospective candidates” for October’s vote.
HRW said that the North African country was “gearing up for a presidential election amid increased repression of dissent and free speech, without crucial checks and balances on President Saied’s power.”
Tunisia groups urge inclusion of rejected candidates in poll
https://arab.news/p58ej
Tunisia groups urge inclusion of rejected candidates in poll
Syria’s growth accelerates as sanctions ease, refugees return
- Economy grows much faster than World Bank’s 1% estimate, fueling plans for currency’s relaunch
NEW YORK: Syria’s economy is growing much faster than the World Bank’s 1 percent estimate for 2025 as refugees flow back after the end of a 14-year civil war, fueling plans for the relaunch of the country’s currency and efforts to build a new Middle East financial hub, central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh has said.
Speaking via video link at a conference in New York, Husrieh also said he welcomed a deal with Visa to establish digital payment systems and added that the country is working with the International Monetary Fund to develop methods to accurately measure economic data to reflect the resurgence.
The Syrian central bank chief, who is helping guide the war-torn country’s reintegration into the global economy after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime about a year ago, described the repeal of many US sanctions against Syria as “a miracle.”
The US Treasury on Nov. 10 announced a 180-day extension of the suspension of the so-called Caesar sanctions against Syria; lifting them entirely requires approval by the US Congress.
Husrieh said that based on discussions with US lawmakers, he expects the sanctions to be repealed by the end of 2025, ending “the last episode of the sanctions.”
“Once this happens, this will give comfort to our potential correspondent banks about dealing with Syria,” he said.
Husrieh also said that Syria was working to revamp regulations aimed at combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which he said would provide further assurances to international lenders.
Syria’s central bank has recently organized workshops with banks from the US, Turkiye, Jordan and Australia to discuss due diligence in reviewing transactions, he added.
Husrieh said that Syria is preparing to launch a new currency in eight note denominations and confirmed plans to remove two zeroes from them in a bid to restore confidence in the battered pound.
“The new currency will be a signal and symbol for this financial liberation,” Husrieh said. “We are glad that we are working with Visa and Mastercard,” Husrieh said.
