Head of Tunisian People's Movement announces presidential candidacy

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen
23 Jul 2024 20:06

Zouhair Maghzaoui says groups of Tunisian youth, civil society components, and national figures have expressed their support for him.

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Tunisian Secretary-General of the People's Movement Zouhair Maghzaoui talks during an exclusive interview in Tunis, Tunisia, on April 26, 2022. (Anadolu Agency via AFP)

The Secretary-General of the Tunisian People's Movement party, Zouhair Maghzaoui, announced Tuesday his candidacy for the country's upcoming presidential elections scheduled for October 6.

During a press conference in the capital, Tunis, Maghzaoui said that groups of Tunisian youth, civil society components, and national figures have expressed their support for him and have joined his election campaign.

He indicated that Tunisia has experienced over 10 years of "attempts by internal forces allied with external ones to take control," adding that "it is not predestined for Tunisia to be dependent on foreign entities or to fight windmills to justify the inability to achieve progress."

Maghzaoui called on the country's Independent High Authority for Elections to treat all presidential candidates equally, stressing that any restriction on a candidate is unacceptable.

The presidential hopeful outlined that his electoral program focuses on "effective public education, equitable public healthcare, and the right to water, which a large part of the Tunisian people has been deprived of."

He also expressed his commitment to ensuring that Tunisia is "integrated into its Arab, Maghreb, and African surroundings" to foster new economic relations, in addition to reviewing "the partnership agreement between Tunisia and the European Union and preparing Tunisia for positioning within BRICS."

It is noteworthy that the People's Movement is represented in the Tunisian parliament by 11 deputies and is among the parties supporting the exceptional measures imposed by Tunisian President Kais Saied since July 25, 2021, ruling by decree since suspending parliament.

On Friday, Saied announced in a video released by his office his candidacy for the October 6 presidential elections "in order to keep up the fight in the battle for national liberation."

Issam Chebbi, a leader of the main opposition National Salvation Front who was arrested in February 2023 for "plotting against the state," dropped out of the race on Thursday, his party said.

Last month, Abdellatif Mekki, a former health minister who heads the Labor and Achievement Party, also said last month that he was withdrawing his candidacy.