TUNIS: Tunisian legal scholars warned on Thursday that the legitimacy of next month’s presidential election will be damaged if the electoral commission does not respect court decisions last week to reinstate three disqualified candidates.
The warning came in a statement by scores of academics in Tunisia, where rights groups accuse President Kais Saied of unpicking the democracy introduced after the Arab Spring.
Last week, the administrative court, the highest judicial body that adjudicates over electoral disputes, reinstated three prominent candidates, Mondher Znaidi, Abdellatif Mekki and Imed Daimi, in the Oct. 6 vote after the commission had rejected their candidacy.
But this week the election commission rejected the court ruling. It approved only the candidacies of Saied and two others, Zouhair Magzhaoui and Ayachi Zammel, for the election.
The decision has sparked widespread criticism among all parties, activists and rights groups.
Znaidi, Daimi and Mekki said they would continue their legal battle against what they say is a “fraud” by the commission aimed at paving the way for Saied to win a second term.
The statement, by about 90 law professors and academics widely seen as neutral in Tunisia’s complex political landscape, called on the commission “to abide by the Court’s decision to ensure the credibility of the electoral process and protect the rule of law.”
“The commission’s decision puts the electoral process at risk as it affects its credibility and integrity and necessarily leads to questioning the election results,” they added.
The public prosecutor on Wednesday ordered the detention of Zammel after he was arrested on suspicion of falsifying popular endorsements. Zammel has denied wrongdoing and says he is being intimidated because he is serious rival in the race.
Saied was democratically elected in 2019 then tightened his grip on power and began ruling by decree in 2021 in a move the opposition described as a coup. He said last year he would not hand over Tunisia to “non-patriots.”
Tunisia’s law professors warn presidential election legitimacy at risk
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Tunisia’s law professors warn presidential election legitimacy at risk
- The warning came in a statement by scores of academics in Tunisia, where rights groups accuse President Kais Saied of unpicking the democracy introduced after the Arab Spring
- Znaidi, Daimi and Mekki said they would continue their legal battle against what they say is a “fraud” by the commission aimed at paving the way for Saied to win a second term
Syria nears anniversary of Assad’s fall amid renewed ‘deeply troubling’ abuses, UN warns
- Early steps by interim leadership ‘encouraging but only the beginning’ of long process of accountability, human rights chief says
- Concern that rising hate speech, both online and on the streets, has intensified violence against Alawite, Druze, Christian, Bedouin communities
NEW YORK: Syria is days away from marking the first anniversary of the fall of President Bashar Assad’s regime, but the country’s interim authorities face mounting criticism over continuing abuses and a fragile security environment, the UN human rights chief said.
In a statement on Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said early steps by the interim leadership, including the creation of national commissions for transitional justice and missing persons, and investigative bodies examining violence in coastal areas and in Suweida, were “encouraging but only the beginning” of a long process of accountability.
Trials for suspects linked to last year’s coastal violence have begun, and a draft law on transitional justice has been announced. But Turk said the human rights situation remains deeply troubling.
According to the UN, hundreds of people have been killed over the past year in summary executions, arbitrary killings, and abductions. Victims include members of minority communities and individuals accused of ties to the former government. Deaths were attributed to gunfire, stabbings, blunt-force attacks, shelling, hand grenades and explosive remnants of war.
The UN said perpetrators include security forces under the interim authorities, armed groups aligned with them, remnants of the former government’s forces, local militias, and unidentified armed actors.
Investigators also documented reports of sexual violence, arbitrary detention, looting, destruction of homes, forced evictions, and property confiscations, along with restrictions on free expression and peaceful assembly.
Turk warned that rising hate speech, both online and on the streets, had intensified violence against Alawite, Druze, Christian, and Bedouin communities.
The past year has also seen repeated Israeli military operations inside Syrian territory, including incursions and the occupation of additional areas. The UN said it had received reports of civilian casualties in a recent Israeli strike near Damascus, along with arrests and home searches carried out during military actions.
Turk expressed concern that former armed groups have been integrated into new security forces without adequate human rights checks, raising the risk of repeat violations.
“Proper vetting and comprehensive security sector reform are essential to prevent individuals responsible for serious abuses from entering the security forces,” he said.
He urged Syria’s interim authorities to ensure independent and transparent investigations into all violations, past and present, and to hold those responsible to account.
“Accountability, justice, peace, and the security of all Syrians are absolute prerequisites for a successful transition,” Turk said, adding that victims must have access to remedies and reparation.
The UN Human Rights Office said its Damascus program is supporting efforts to advance inclusive transitional justice and strengthen the rule of law as Syria navigates a post-Assad transition.
