Tunis - Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on Wednesday announced that he would again stand for election in 2009.

The 72-year-old Ben Ali, who has been Tunisia's head of state since November 1987, made the announcement at the opening of the congress of his RDC party.

Ben Ali is not expected to meet serious opposition in next year's poll, primarily because of a law adopted last week stipulating that all candidates for the Tunisian presidency must have been the head of a political party for at least two years.

This eliminated his only announced rival for the position so far, Nejib Chebbi, the founder of the Progressive Democratic Party. Chebbi, who resigned from his party's presidency earlier this year, charged that the law was "made to measure" for Ben Ali.

In addition to charges from many quarters that his human rights record is anything but spotless, Ben Ali will also have to confront a deteriorating economy and rising unemployment, a situation that has already provoked numerous demonstrations.

In June, one person was killed and troops were deployed during a protest in the southern mining region of Gafsa. (dpa)