Tunisia’s election authority bars journalists from press briefing

LONDON: Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections excluded journalists from a press conference on Monday, drawing fresh criticism over its increasingly strained relationship with the media.

The press briefing was held to present the final list of candidates for the country’s presidential election set for early October.

President Kais Saied will face Zouhair Maghzaoui and Ayachi Zammel, after the electoral authority rejected an administrative court order to reinstate three candidates — Imed Daimi, Mondher Znaidi and Abdellatif Mekki — into the race, a decision that has sparked controversy.

Journalists were further angered when the authority barred private Tunisian and foreign media outlets from attending the briefing, only permitting journalists from state-run outlets such as Tunisie Radio, Tunis Afrique Presse and Tunisie TV to take part.

“This exclusionary policy adopted by the authority is an attempt to escape media accountability for its decisions and to answer the questions of the public opinion regarding this decision, which contradicts the rulings of the administrative court,” the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate said.

The incident is the latest in a series of controversies involving the the media and the election authority, which recently revoked a journalist’s accreditation for allegedly failing to produce objective and balanced coverage, citing violations of electoral law and professional ethics.