Public Prosecution in Tunisia to refer prominent political figures to investigation
The Public Prosecution Office in Tunisia decided to refer prominent political figures to investigation, on charges of electoral violations during the presidential and parliamentary elections that took place in the fall of 2019.
On Tuesday, the local radio station “Mosaique” reported that the Public Prosecution Office of the Court of First Instance in Tunis decided to refer Ennahda’s candidate in the presidential elections, Abdel Fattah Mourou, the head of the Free Constitutional Party, Abeer Moussa, the head of the Karama coalition bloc, Seif El-Din Makhlouf, and presidential candidate Omar Mansour, At the attention of the investigating judge of the Court of First Instance in Tunis, for violating the regulations relating to political advertising during the previous presidential and parliamentary elections.
The decision to refer the aforementioned to the investigation office was based on their qualifications as lawyers, as the applicable laws require referring the lawyer to the investigating judge for any misdemeanor or crime attributed to him.
About two weeks ago, the Public Prosecution referred the head of the Ennahda movement, Rashid Ghannouchi, the former Prime Minister and Secretary-General of the Tahya Tounes party, Youssef Chahed, the head of the “Qalb Tounes” party, Nabil Karoui, and the former defense minister, Abdel Karim Zubaidi, to the criminal department. , accused of committing electoral crimes and receiving unknown funds.
The referral decision is based on what was revealed by the final report of the Court of Auditors on the results of monitoring the financing of the premature presidential elections and the parliamentary elections of 2019, which confirmed the occurrence of a number of abuses, including contracting with foreign parties and resorting to political advertising through television and radio channels for 6 candidates, at a value of About 171,000 dinars ($62,000), in addition to the use of funded publications on social networks by parties, most notably the Ennahda Movement, Qalb Tounes, and Afaq Tounes.
It is noteworthy that Tunisian President Kais Saied called on more than one occasion for the judicial authorities to prosecute those involved in electoral crimes, based on what was stated in the Audit Department’s report, and criticized the judiciary’s reluctance to resolve it.
