Tunisia’s Appeal Court on Tuesday refused to consider a petition to release Nabil Al Qarawy, a presidential candidate who came second in the first round days before.
He was detained for accusations of money laundering.
Judges of the Appeal Court considered the petition today instead of tomorrow as it has been appointed.
It is worth to mention that N. Al Qarawy, chairman of Qalb Tunis- heart of Tunisia) is accused of laundering money and tax evasion.
A non-government organization called “ Ana Yaqez- I’m Vigilant “ has filed a complaint at the Tunisian Prosecution against Al Qarawy in 2017.
A judge decided to arrest him in August just ten days ahead of the presidential campaign launching.
It is worth mention ing that the Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia, chaired by Nabil Baffon, has announced that the second round will be on Sunday, October 13.
He affirmed readiness of the concerned bodies in Tunisia to secure the polling stations on the day of the presidential election.
It is worth to mention that law of election enforces the authority to appoint date of the second round of the presidential election after declaring the final results of the first one.
Baffon revealed that the election authority faces a dilemma springs of detaining Nabil Al Qarawy, the presidential candidate who passed the first round.
He warns that some people could challenge soundness of the election if this freak stance lasts.
He went on to say the committee has asked to organize a press or televised conference with the detained candidate.
But such an option becomes more complicated ahead of the second round.
The two candidates should have equal opportunities.
Head of the election authority in Tunisia stressed that suspending the election was on the table as it is hard to decide that.
He assured that the committee exerts more efforts to find solution to that problem.
The first round of the presidential election in Tunisia was held on September 15.
Soyyeid came first as he won 18.4% of the votes and Nabil Al Qarawy came second and won 15.6% of the votes.
The winning candidates will participate in the second round next month.
Turn out in the first round was lower than the previous election — just 45.02% turned out to vote, the Independent High Authority for Elections announced after polls closed.
Two candidates said they qualified for a second round of the election even though the official results had not yet been released by the country’s election authority.
The pre-election televised debate included a total of 26 candidates who duked it out over three nights in Tunis, in a live broadcast shown on 11 television channels and more than 20 radio stations across the Arab world.
In order to win after a first-round, a candidate would need at least 50% of the vote—an unlikely prospect given the number of candidates.
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