(Bloomberg) -- One of Tunisian President Kais Saied’s two electoral challengers received yet more jail time for alleged forgery, just five days before the North African nation holds a vote the incumbent is poised to easily win.
Ayachi Zammel, head of the opposition Azimoun party, was sentenced to three years apiece on four counts of fabricating endorsements, the state-run TAP news agency reported Tuesday, citing a court spokesman. It wasn’t clear if the prison terms would run consecutively or concurrently.
Zammel had already been sentenced on similar charges by at least two other courts in the past two weeks. TAP cited his lawyer as saying he’s being tried for 35 cases. He denies the charges.
The convictions are the latest drama ahead of the Oct. 6 ballot in which Saied is all but certain to win a second term. The former constitutional law professor, who won as a populist independent in 2019, has come under increasing criticism for usurping power and silencing dissent in what was once the Arab world’s most progressive democracy.
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