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Jailed Tunisian politician enters presidency race, reports media

Moussi, 49, head of the Free Destourian Party and a former parliament member, was arrested on October 3 in front of the presidential palace

Tunisian politician Abir Moussi, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied and party leader who has been jailed since October, registered on Saturday her candidacy in upcoming elections via her lawyers, local media reported.

Radio station Mosaique FM said six members of Moussi's legal team filed the registration forms on her behalf for the October 6 presidential ballot.

Candidate registration, which began on Monday, is due to close at 5pm on Tuesday.

Experts say presidential hopefuls face significant constraints in their bid to challenge the incumbent Saied, who was democratically elected in 2019 but orchestrated a sweeping power grab in 2021 and is now seeking another term in office.

To be listed on the ballot, candidates are required to present a list of signatures from 10,000 registered voters, with at least 500 voter signatures per constituency — "an enormous number" according to political analyst Amine Kharrat — or secure endorsements from lawmakers or local officials.

Moussi, 49, head of the Free Destourian Party and a former parliament member, was arrested on October 3 in front of the presidential palace, where according to her party she came to file appeals against decrees issued by Saied and used to dramatically reshape the political system.

She is accused of serious crimes including "attacks that aim to change the form of government".

An outspoken critic of both Saied and Islamist opposition party Ennahdha, Moussi is accused by her detractors of wanting to return to the authoritarianism of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, overthrown in Tunisia's 2011 revolt.

Other jailed opposition figures had announced their plans to present their candidacy but, having failed to obtain a power of attorney, were unable to complete the process.

Among them are Issam Chebbi, leader of centrist party Al Joumhouri, and Ghazi Chaouchi, head of the social-democratic party Democratic Current, both held for "plotting against the state".

The two politicians are among more than 20 of Saied's opponents detained since a flurry of arrests in February 2023.

Saied critics from across the political spectrum have complained that the new, tougher endorsement requirements are making it nearly impossible to get on the ballot paper.

Earlier this week, four women working on the presidential campaign of rapper turned businessman Karim Gharbi, better known by his stage name K2Rhym, were given jail time for buying signatures of endorsement.

Three staffers on media personality Nizar Chaari's campaign have been detained on similar suspicions, which the candidate has categorically denied.

A group of about 30 NGOs denounced on Thursday the "arbitrary detention" of candidates, an electoral authority which has "lost its independence" and "the monopolisation of the public space" to bolster Saied's re-election bid.