Tunisian politician Ayachi Zammel, a candidate in the country’s upcoming presidential election, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to his lawyer, Abdessater Messoudi.
The court in Tunis found Zammel guilty in four cases connected to voter endorsements. Despite the ruling, Messoudi confirmed that Zammel remains a candidate in the October 6 election.
The current president, Kais Saied, is leading the race. Saied, who was elected in 2019, made significant changes during his term, including dissolving parliament and restructuring the government to limit legislative powers.
Zammel, a former member of parliament, leads a small liberal party and is one of only two challengers cleared by Tunisia’s electoral authority, ISIE, to oppose Saied in the election.
Before finalizing the candidate list, ISIE had rejected the applications of 14 other hopefuls, ultimately allowing only three candidates to run: Saied, former lawmaker Zouhair Maghzaoui, and businessman Zammel.
Zammel’s legal troubles began earlier, with his lawyer stating that he was previously sentenced to 20 months in prison for charges tied to forged voter endorsements. Despite these setbacks, he remains in the race.
