As Tunisia gears up for elections in October, a wave of arrests and legal obstacles are casting a long shadow over the political landscape. Potential candidates are facing the wrath of authorities, who are seemingly intent on silencing any voices that challenge President Kais Saied. The latest victim of this crackdown is Abdellatif Mekki, a former health minister and prominent figure in the Islamist movement Ennahda. Mekki, who has announced his candidacy for the presidency, has been placed under a gag order and restricted in his movements by a Tunis court. He is facing charges related to the 2014 killing of a physician, charges that his political party, Work and Accomplishment, vehemently denounce as politically motivated, timed to sabotage his electoral campaign. “We strongly condemn these arbitrary measures, considering them political targeting of a serious candidate in the presidential elections,” the party stated in a press release.
Mekki’s predicament is far from an isolated incident. Just a week prior, Lotfi Mraihi, a physician and veteran politician also vying for the presidency, was apprehended on charges of money laundering. Mraihi, the leader of the nationalist Republican People’s Union party, was detained following an additional warrant issued by a judge, adding to existing charges from January. A Tunis court spokesperson, speaking to Radio Mosaique, stated that the warrant was served on suspicion of money laundering, asset transfer, and the opening of foreign bank accounts without Central Bank approval. Mraihi had previously been sentenced to a suspended six-month prison term in January, stemming from a 2019 investigation into allegations of vote-buying. The Tunisian non-governmental organization Legal Agenda condemned the arrest as a blatant show of force, claiming it represented a tightening of the authorities’ grip on the electoral process. “The arrest of the presumed candidate, Lotfi Mrahi, represents a new step by the authorities in tightening its grip on the electoral process, after announcing ‘tailor-made’ conditions for candidacy, while judicial rulings ensure that the rest of the candidates in the race are besieged,” the organization said in a statement.
These arrests are only the latest examples of a broader pattern of persecution of political opponents under Saied’s rule. Amnesty International reported in February that over the preceding year, more than 20 critics of Saied’s government had been arrested, detained, or convicted on politically motivated charges. The crackdown has spanned the political spectrum, targeting both Islamists and nationalists. Rached Ghannouchi, the 83-year-old leader of Ennahda, Tunisia’s largest Islamist party, has been behind bars since May 2024, facing charges of foreign interference that his party claims are politically motivated. Ghannouchi was sentenced to one year in prison and a fine by Tunisia’s anti-terrorism court following public statements he made at a funeral in February 2022, in which he appeared to criticize the president, referring to him as “a tyrant.” He continues to face legal challenges, with a recent sentencing to three years in prison on charges of involvement in an illicit foreign financing scheme during the previous presidential election.
Abir Moussi, a popular right-wing figure who appeals to those nostalgic for the pre-revolution era, was arrested in October 2023. She was initially detained while under investigation for a cybercrime violation following a complaint lodged by Tunisia’s election authority. The complaint stemmed from Moussi’s criticism of a lack of transparency and the presidential decrees guiding the electoral process. Moussi’s party, which had announced its intention to challenge Saied in October before her arrest, confirmed its participation in the election this month, despite her continued imprisonment.
The National Salvation Front, a coalition of secular and Islamist parties including Ennahda, has denounced the current political climate as inimical to legitimate elections. The group has condemned the electoral process as a sham and has declared that it will not endorse or nominate a candidate. The arrests have ignited outrage among political parties and fanned anxieties about the country’s flailing political and economic landscape. Work and Accomplishment, Mekki’s party, described his arrest as a blow to the “general political climate” and warned that it would undermine the electoral process’s credibility and harm Tunisia’s image.
The unfolding events raise serious questions about the future of democracy in Tunisia. The country’s trajectory since the Arab Spring has taken a worrying turn, with Saied’s consolidation of power and the suppression of dissent pushing the nation further away from the democratic aspirations that once held so much promise. The upcoming elections, shrouded in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, will serve as a crucial test of Tunisia’s commitment to a free and fair democratic process.
