Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Who Are Tunisia's Presidential Candidates?


Mon 29 Jul 2019 | 02:27 PM
Basant ahmed

Deputy Head of Tunisia’s Independent High Electoral Authority, Farouk Bouasker, said that a meeting will be held, Tuesday morning, with political parties to present the plans set for the early presidential election.

The meeting will also clarify the reasons for setting next September 15 as date for the first round of Tunisian presidential election, Tunisian newspaper ”Akher Khabar online” reported.

Earlier, Tunisia’s Independent High Electoral Authority decided to reduce the period of the presidential election campaign from 22 to 13 days; candidates would be able to submit their applications from August 2 to 9.

Candidates who are expected to stand for presidential election include:

Youssef Chahed  

Many analysts expect that Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, 43, will run in the next presidential election. He would receive considerable support from several different political currents.

Chahed is the leader of the newly-formed party, Tahya Tounes "Long Live Tunisia", which he founded recently after splitting from ruling Nidaa Tounes party, led by late President Beji Caid Essebsi.

 

Moncef Marzouki

One of the prominent candidates is former president Moncef Marzouki who took over as president of Tunisia in the wake of Jasmine Revolution in 2011, and continued in office until he was defeated by Essebsi in the run-off elections in 2014.

Marzouki had been elected by means of an interim constitutional assembly in 2011, following Ben Ali's fall during popular uprisings.

 

Rached Ghannouchi

Rached Ghannouchi, the influential leader of Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party, is expected to stand in the presidential election. His party announced that he will stand in the next parliamentary elections in October.

Ennahda party justified the move by saying that Ghannouchi is seeking to test his popularity, so some analysts expect that he would run in the next presidential election.

 

There are several expected candidates who would join the race. They include Sufian Ben Nasser, a businessman who resigned recently  from Nidaa Tounes party, MP Reza Sharaf El Din, and prominent media figure Nabil Al-Qarawi, who revealed his intentions to vie in the presidential election.

 

Related Links:

https://see.news/tunisia-bids-farewell-to-essebsi-photos/

https://see.news/tunisian-presidential-election-to-be-held-on-sep-15/

https://see.news/breaking-tunisian-1st-democratically-elected-president-dies-at-92/