Tunisia to open registration for presidential candidates on August 2

Registration for candidates seeking to stand forTunisia's presidency will kick off on August 2, an electoral officialsaid Sunday, as the country is arranging for a democratic transitionafter the death of president Beji Caid Essebsi earlier this week.Essebsi, Tunisia's first democratically elected president, died onThursday aged 92, almost five years after he took office.Shortly after his death, parliamentary speaker Mohamed Ennaceur wassworn in as interim president for a maximum period of 90 days, duringwhich a new president must be elected, according to the constitution.The period for accepting applications from potential contenders willrun for a week from August 2 to 9, said the deputy head of theelection commission, Farouk Bouasker, on Sunday. The campaigning period has been cut from the usual 22 days to 13days, Bouasker told the Tunisian state news agency TAP, withoutdetails."The electoral commission will meet on Tuesday with political partiesto inform them of details of the new election calendar," he added.