Tunisian opposition member nominates himself for presidential elections

The secretary general of the Tunisian People's Unity Party, Muhammad Balhaj Omar, has officially nominated himself for Tunisia's first multilateral presidential elections, to be held on October 24.

Balhaj Omar (65), the founder of the PUP, which is represented by two parliamentarians in the Tunisian Parliament, is the second and last leader of the legitimate opposition to be officially nominated for the elections after the concerned parliamentary committee received the nomination of Abdul Rahman al-Taleili, the secretary general of the Unionist Democratic Federation, which has three seats in the parliament.

The press and political analysts described the nomination of the two parties' secretaries as a mere symbolic measure, aiming at contributing to establishing more pluralism in the campaign waged by Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Bin Ali for a third term of office, which will last for five years.