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The criminal division of the Tunis court of first instance sentenced presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel to 12 years in prison in four cases across several provinces in the country, related to the falsification of endorsements and the offering of gifts to influence voters.

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Zammel’s lawyer, Abdelstar El-Massoudi, told local radio “Mosaique” that the defense team would pursue all legal avenues to defend their client, including turning to international courts. He added on Monday that Zammel had been brought to the second court of first instance in Tunis, where five new cases were found against him, along with warrants, bringing the total number of cases to nine.

The final list of candidates for the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for October 6 includes Ayachi Zammel, Zouhair Maghzaoui, and Kais Saied.

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In September, Tunisian courts rejected all requests for the release of presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel and decided to keep him in custody, postponing the review of the case.

The public prosecutor at the Jendouba court of first instance had arrested Zammel on charges of falsifying electoral endorsements. He faces similar charges in several courts. His defense team had previously stated that Zammel faced similar legal actions in the governorates of Manouba and Siliana.

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Presidential candidates must collect 10 endorsements from members of the Assembly of People’s Representatives (the lower house of parliament), or an equal number from the Council of Regions and Districts (the upper house), or 40 endorsements from local or regional council presidents, or 10,000 signatures in 10 electoral districts, with at least 500 voters in each district.

Farouk Bouasker, the president of the Independent High Electoral Authority, stated in previous remarks that the council was committed to organizing fair and transparent elections, free from the influence of corrupt political money, associations, media manipulation, or biased public opinion polls.

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Some factions of the Tunisian opposition are particularly trying to exploit the Ayachi Zammel case to attack the authorities and gain political leverage by aligning behind him.

The Islamic opposition party Coalition Al-Karama announced on Monday that after broad consultations with various political factions and studying Zammel’s goals and programs, they found alignment with their own beliefs and decided to support him in the presidential elections, calling for voters to back him.

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The party, known for its hardline stances, launched a sharp attack on the authorities, saying that the candidacy of several national figures had been met with unprecedented political targeting through fabricated legal cases and by ignoring judicial decisions that had exonerated some of them. The party also criticized the exclusion of the administrative court from adjudicating electoral disputes.

Despite this, a significant portion of Tunisians still hold high hopes for the elections. One of the participating parties is betting on the elections to reinforce the principle of peaceful power transitions through the ballot box, hoping that the process will take place in a democratic atmosphere with widespread public participation.

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In light of these developments, Moncef Bouzazi, a member of the political bureau of the “People’s Movement,” stated that his party’s main goal in the elections is that they take place in good conditions with broad public participation.

Bouzazi told Anadolu Agency, “Our party’s bet with our candidate Zouhair Maghzaoui is on the future, and we are working seriously and vigorously with our people.”

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He added, “We entered this democratic race to strengthen democracy and peaceful power transitions through the ballot box. This is the experience we have lived and that we hope all nations can share, free from internal or external pressures or interference.”

Bouzazi emphasized that “consolidating democracy and ensuring peaceful transitions of power are the first and foremost goals” of his party in this election. He explained that they aim to “entrench democracy as a cultural, sociological, and political reality in the country”.