PES

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The PES denounces the exclusion of Dr. Mustapha Benjaafar from the presidential elections in Tunisia. The decision of the country’s Constitutional Council to declare his candidacy invalid is based on dubious reasoning and amounts to an illegitimate attempt to knock him off the presidential race.

The ruling was issued on grounds that Benjaafar had not been elected party leader in the last two years. In reality, Dr. Benjaafar has been recognised as the legitimate leader of the party for the past seven consecutive years. The ruling is nothing less than a direct blow to the prospect of free elections, in favour of the existing regime.

Dr. Benjaafar is in fact both the founder and the current Secretary General of the FDTL party, a partner of the PES and a member of the Socialist International, recognised as an official party since 2002. 

Commenting on the ruling, PES Secretary General Philip Cordery said:”The exclusion of Dr. Mustapha Benjaafar from the presidential race is unacceptable.  His party stands for democracy, freedom, and social justice, and his forced removal from the electoral race constitutes the undermining of these values.  Dr. Benjaafar is an honest contestant; political pluralism and fair elections are needed so that the people of Tunisia can have the option of choosing an alternative to the existing regime”.

The presidential elections are due to take place on 25 October, in which current President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali hopes to secure a fifth consecutive term. After seizing power in a coup in 1987, Ben Ali modified the constitution in 2004 to allow himself to remain in office. His regime has been accused of numerous human rights violations, notably against political dissidents.