As Tunisia gears up for the country's upcoming presidential elections on October 6, observers are worried that incumbent President Kais Saied is derailing the vote's democratic foundation.

Of the 17 candidates who had announced to run for president, 14 contenders were either detained or excluded from running.

On Monday, the country's Independent Electoral Commission for Elections, ISIE, approved only three candidates in total. Many observers don't actually regard the commission as independent given that President Saied nominated all seven members himself.

In addition to Saied, Zouhair Maghzaoui, a former member of parliament and Ayachi Zammel, a business man who leads a small pro-business party, were admitted as candidates.

However, it remains to be seen if Ayachi Zammel will actually be able to run. Following his approval as a candidate, police forces temporarily detained him on September 4. His lawyer told the news agency AP that Zammel was accused of falsifying signatures, which he denies.

"We may witness elections while the candidates are in prison," Romdhane Ben Omar, the spokesperson of the non-governmental human rights organization, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), told DW.

The latest ISIE decision to approve........

© Deutsche Welle