Tunisian court allows candidate Mekki to resume election bid

A Tunisian court on Tuesday upheld an appeal by prominent opposition politician Abdellatif Mekki, allowing him to resume his bid for the presidency in an election expected on October 6, judicial and political sources said.

The electoral commission had excluded Mekki from the race due to what it said was a lack of popular endorsements. Judicial official Faycel Boguira said that the court’s decision was final and could not be appealed.

Tunisia's administrative court will issue further rulings this week regarding other politicians who have filed appeals after the commission also rejected their candidacy papers. They include Mondher Zenaidi, Imed Daimi and Abir Moussi.

The court’s decision adds Mekki, head of the Action and Achievement Party, to a list of accepted candidates that also includes the incumbent, President Kais Saied, and politicians Ayachi Zammel and Zouhair Maghzaoui.

Saied, who dissolved parliament and seized control of all powers in 2021 in a move described by the opposition as a coup, said last year "he would not hand over the country to non-patriots".

• World