Tunisian court upholds jail term for presidential candidate ahead of election

A Tunisian court has confirmed an imprisonment sentence earlier handed down to a presidential contender ahead of elections scheduled for Sunday in the North African country.

The appeals court in the city of Jendouba in western Tunisia had upheld the 20-month jail sentence against detained presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel, his lawyer said.

The ruling can be appealed and will not affect Zammel's candidacy, his lawyer said.

Last month, a lower court issued a sentence against Zammel, a businessman and the head of the liberal Azimoun party, on charges of falsifying electoral documents.

The October 6 polls pit incumbent President Kais Saied against Zammel and Zouhair Maghzaoui of the leftist nationalist People's Movement.

According to observers, serious challengers to Saied, who is seeking a second term in office, have been excluded.

The election commission has recently refused to reinstate three more presidential hopefuls who won court appeals to run for president.

Critics have accused the panel of lacking independence and clearing the way for Saied to win, accusations the panel denied.

The vote will take place "against a backdrop of increased repression of dissent, muzzling of the media, and continued attacks on judicial independence," Human Rights Watch said last month.

Since 2021, Saied has consolidated his power by dissolving the parliament and calling early elections, steps that the opposition called a "coup."