Tunisian president attacks critics of election

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali said on Saturday that anyone making unfounded allegations about the fairness of a Sunday election he is poised to win would be prosecuted.

"The law will be applied ... with rigour against anyone who spreads doubts or accusations about the integrity of the electoral process without providing hard proof," the 73-year-old president, who has been in power for 22 years, said.

International human rights groups have said the vote is unlikely to be free and fair because of restrictions imposed on Ben Ali's opponents, allegations the authorities have denied.

In a television address, Ben Ali said some of his opponents had betrayed the country with a campaign of lies aimed at discrediting the election. He was last re-elected in 2004 with 94.4 percent of the vote.

"The campaign for presidential and legislative elections has been conducted within the framework of the law and democratic principles," he said.

He said a tiny minority of Tunisians ignored their duty to their country and solicited help from abroad to damage Tunisia's reputation.

Many voters credit Ben Ali with bringing stability and relative prosperity to Tunisia, a North African country seen by Western governments as a bulwark against Islamist extremism.