Tunisian court rejects request to put off 2nd round of presidential election
Tunisia’s Administrative Court on Friday rejected a request by lawyers of the presidential candidate Nabil Karoui to postpone the second round of the country’s presidential election, Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported.
The Court of Cassation in Tunis on Wednesday ordered the release of Karoui, who was jailed on Aug. 23 on suspected involvement in money laundering and tax fraud according to a report that dates back to 2016.
The announcement of Karoui’s release came almost an hour before the preliminary results of the parliamentary election, where his party came second by winning 38 out of 217 seats in parliament, just after the Islamist party Ennahdha (Renaissance) which obtained 52 seats.
Karoui, leader of the Heart of Tunisia party who garnered 15.58 percent in the first round of presidential election, will compete with the Independent candidate Kais Saied in the second round of election sheduled for Oct. 13. Saied won 18.4 percent of votes in the first round of election.
