Tunisia's parliament has approved a law stripping its top court of its authority to rule on electoral disputes, nine days before the presidential election. Opposition groups fear the move is aimed at ensuring President Kais Saied remains in power.
Out of a total 161 lawmakers, 116 voted on Friday to amend the electoral law to strip Tunisia's administrative court of its power to rule on electoral disputes.
It comes just days ahead of presidential polls on 6 October.
Demonstrators gathered outside parliament on Friday to protest the amendment, holding placards saying "Assassination of Democracy" and "Rigged election".
Civil rights activists and opposition parties, including the Free Destourian Party, whose leader Abir Moussi is in jail, called for protests on Saturday.
"We are witnessing the capture of the state days before the vote," political activist Chaima Issa said. "We are at the peak of absurdity and one-man rule."
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Court and electoral commission at loggerheads
The draft law removes the power of the administrative court, which is widely seen as Tunisia's last independent judicial body, after Saied dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges in 2022.
The court has clashed with the electoral commission (ISIE), whose members are chosen by Saied.
ISIE has barred three presidential hopefuls from running against Saied in the 6 October polls.
The court overturned that decision in August and called for the disqualified candidates to be reinstated, arguing the legitimacy of the presidential election was in question.
ISIE has ignored the court and allowed only two candidates – businessman Ayachi Zammel and former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui – to run against Saied.
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In a statement issued Friday, lawmakers said that they had drafted the bill over "discord" with the court's ruling that granted the barred candidates their appeals.
They argue the court is no longer neutral and could annul the election and plunge Tunisia into chaos and a constitutional vacuum.
Critics argue that Saied is using the electoral commission and the judiciary to secure victory by stifling competition and intimidating rivals.
Saied was democratically elected in 2019, but then tightened his grip on power and began ruling by decree in 2021.
(with newswires)
