Tunisian presidential candidate Lotfi Mraihi barred from contesting elections for life

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A Tunisian court on Friday sentenced a presidential candidate Lotfi Mraihi to eight months in prison and banned him from contesting elections for life, in the latest move to stifle opponents of President Kais Saied in the upcoming October election which critics call a sham.

The court found Mraihi guilty of vote-buying during the 2019 election, adding him to the list of government critics prosecuted for alleged wrongdoing in that contest.

The charge is the latest to face Mraihi, the 65-year-old president of the Republican People’s Union, a nationalist opposition party. He also faces money laundering charges, which he denies. And in January, he was charged under an anti-fake news statute that authorities have used to target those critical of Saied.

Mraihi’s lawyer Omar Ben Ismael told The Associated Press that he planned to appeal Friday’s verdict, which would give Mraihi an opening to remain a presidential candidate and challenge Saied.

Tunisia’s election authority confirmed Friday that a representative for Mraihi had pulled the signature-gathering paperwork presidential candidates need to submit to appear on the ballot.

Mraihi is the latest of a wave of candidates to face charges ahead of the election, which opposition members have criticized as a sham due to the increasingly authoritarian political conditions in Tunisia. However, he is the only candidate thus far to have a court ban him for life from contesting elections.