President Kais Saied of Tunisia filed his candidacy papers on Monday, hoping to contest in October’s presidential election with minimal opposition because his first term’s opponents were imprisoned.
Saied obtained 242,224 signatures from electors in order to be eligible to appear on the ballot in the North African country on October 6.
In addition to Abir Moussi, a right-wing opponent of the president who was imprisoned after staging a protest outside his home last year, four other candidates have collected signatures to run. According to her attorneys, they submitted her application on Sunday.
By this Saturday, Tunisia will release the whole slate of candidates. To be included on ballots, candidates must collect 10,000 signatures according to the Independent High Authority for Elections.
Tunisia’s political engagement has decreased following the toppling of longstanding tyrant Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. The local elections held last year had an 11% voter turnout.