The Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) announced on Wednesday that 26 candidates had been approved for the early presidential elections scheduled for Sept. 15.

"Out of a total 97 applicants, only 26 were approved for the forthcoming presidential elections," said Nabil Baffoun, the ISIE president, at a press conference in the capital Tunis.

The line-up of the ISIE-approved candidates includes the country's first post-uprising President Moncef Marzouki, deputy head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party Abdelfattah Mourou, former Defense Minister Abdelkarim Zbidi and two women.

"Several factors have contributed to the rejection of many applicants, including the financial capability: 10,000 Tunisian dinars (3,495 U.S. dollars), or incompletion of required documents," Baffoun noted.

Aug. 31 is set as the deadline for announcing the final list of candidates for the presidential elections.