Tunisian authorities escalate election season crackdown and arrest Islamists

Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Officials of Tunisia’s largest opposition party say that dozens of the party’s members have been arrested this week, ahead of this weekend’s start of the campaign season for the country’s presidential election. The Islamist Party Ennahda says that tallies collected by its local branches suggest at least 80 men and women from the party have been apprehended as part of an countywide sweep. It is calling the arrests unprecedented. The sweep is the latest action to mar Tunisia’s campaign season leading up to its presidential election next month. President Kais Saied is heavily favored to win a second term with his most prominent challengers behind bars.