Tunisia begins accepting presidential election candidate applications.

The Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia has announced the commencement of receiving candidacy applications for the presidential elections starting from Monday, July 29, through to August 6.

Candidates are required by law to personally retrieve a nomination form from the Authority’s headquarters to collect endorsements from voters. This stipulation has proven to be a hurdle for opposition politicians who are currently incarcerated, preventing them from fulfilling this requirement.

As of last Friday, over 80 individuals had applied to retrieve the endorsement forms. According to the electoral law, each candidate must gather no fewer than 10,000 endorsements from voters across at least ten electoral districts. Alternatively, candidates can secure ten endorsements from members of the Parliament, an equal number from the Council of Regions and Territories (the second chamber of the Parliament), or the same amount from local, regional, or municipal councils.

The process of collecting the necessary endorsements is a critical step for candidates wishing to officially enter the presidential race, ensuring a broad base of support across the nation’s diverse electoral districts. This phase of the election cycle underscores the democratic procedures in place for political participation in Tunisia, amidst the challenges faced by some opposition figures.

To follow the news in Arabic