Tunisian security arrests head of opposition party

TUNIS, Tunisia

The Tunisian security late Wednesday arrested the secretary-general of the Tunisian opposition Republican People's Union party over alleged suspicion of "money laundering."

According to the local Mosaique radio, the security forces arrested Lotfi Mraihi based on an arrest warrant over suspicion of money laundering, smuggling of assets outside the country, and opening bank accounts outside Tunisia without a permit from the Central Bank.

His arrest took place in the Nabeul province, northeastern Tunisia, and was taken to the Judicial Police administration in the capital Tunis.

Mraihi in April announced that he will run in the upcoming presidential elections, citing he is motivated by the country's "social and economic deterioration."

On Tuesday, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied called for holding the country's presidential elections on Oct. 6.

In April, the National Salvation Front, the major opposition coalition in Tunisia, said it would not participate in the presidential elections, citing the absence of conditions of competition and the imprisonment of political opponents.

The opposition boycotted the December 2022 parliamentary elections and the local municipal elections last December and early this year.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that has aggravated the country's economic conditions since 2021 when Saied ousted the government and dissolved parliament.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara