Tunisia’s parliament has amended a law to strip power from courts over decisions made by an embattled election authority whose members are appointed by President Kais Saied.

The vote in parliament comes just nine days before presidential elections. It strips a court of its power to rule on electoral disputes. Opposition groups fear it aims to ensure President Kais Saied stays in power.

Tunisia's parliament approved a law stripping the Administrative Court of its authority to adjudicate electoral disputes on Friday, nine days before the presidential election and fuelling opposition fears of a rigged result aimed at keeping President Kais Saied in power.

As Tunisia's parliament prepares to vote on a crucial amendment to the electoral law, opposition groups and civil society fear it will cement President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule. The bill potentially strips the Administrative Court of its adjudicating power,

Nine days before the presidential election, a majority of members of parliament voted in favor of amending the young democracy's first election law as the election authority remains in conflict with courts demanding that it return three candidates to the ballot.

A majority of Tunisian MPs approved a bill on Friday to transfer election oversight powers from the independent Administrative Court to the country's general appellate courts. The law, now in