Tunisian President Kais Saied has said that he will seek a new five-year term in an election set for October.
Saied’s announcement comes as the opposition says fair and credible elections cannot be held unless imprisoned politicians are released and the media is allowed to do its job without pressure from the government.
“I officially announce my candidacy for the October 6 presidential election in order to keep up the fight in the battle for national liberation,” Saied, who has ruled by decree since suspending parliament in July 2021, said on Friday in a video released by his office.
Speaking from the southern region of Tataouine, the 66-year-old said he was answering the “country’s sacred call” which left him no choice but to run for a second term.
In July, Saied called the presidential vote for October 6.
Several potential challengers who had announced their candidacy are either in prison or being prosecuted.
In his announcement, Saied called on “everyone preparing to sponsor [candidates] to steer off any corruption”.
Lotfi Mraihi, the head of the opposition Republican Union party, received an eight-month sentence earlier on Friday on the charge of vote buying and a lifetime ban on running for president, Tunisian media reported.
Among Saied’s most prominent critics, Mraihi was arrested in July on suspicion of money laundering.
