Tunisian opposition leader gets 8 months in prison and is barred from contesting election

According to local media reports the Court of First Instance of Tunisia has sentenced opposition leader Lofti Mraihi to eight months in prison with a lifetime ban from contesting elections on charges of illicitly influencing votes through gifts and cash. Mraihi is the founder and president of the Union Populaire Républicaine (Republican Union Party). He has been one of the vocal critics of the current president Kais Saied. Mraihi has also been ordered to pay a fine of approximately $650. The court has sentenced other officials from the party with the same charges, Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reports.