Veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi has claimed victory in Tunisia’s first free presidential election, but bitter rival Moncef Marzouki refused to concede defeat ahead of the release of official results late yesterday.
Tunisians took to the polls on Sunday for the leadership runoff vote, with many calling the ballot a landmark for democracy in the nation where the Arab Spring was born.
Essebsi supporters partied for most of the night in front of his campaign headquarters, as pollsters estimated between 52.8 and 55.5 percent of voters had opted for the Nidaa Tounes party leader.
Photo: Reuters
Tunisia’s electoral commission said it would announce the official results at 8pm GMT yesterday.
Essebsi, an 88-year-old veteran of previous Tunisian governments, said in an address to his rival after voting closed: “We must work together for the future of Tunisia.”
However, Marzouki said Essebsi’s victory claims were “baseless” and he urged people to wait for the official results.
It is the first time Tunisians have freely elected their president since independence from France in 1956.
Authorities had called for a big turnout to consolidate democracy following a chaotic four-year transition. Election organizers said turnout was at 59.04 percent.
Troops guarding ballot papers in the central region of Kairouan came under attack on Sunday morning, shooting dead one assailant and capturing three, the defense ministry said.
Acting Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa condemned what he called a “desperate attempt” to disrupt the election and later said that what had happened was of no “impact,” adding that the security situation was under control.
Authorities had deployed tens of thousands of troops and police to provide security.
Ahead of the vote, which set Tunisia apart from the turmoil of other Arab Spring countries, jihadists issued a videotaped threat against the North African state’s political establishment.
A first round on Nov. 23 saw Essebsi win 39 percent of the vote, 6 percentage points ahead of Marzouki, a 69-year-old former rights activist installed by parliament after December 2011 elections.
Nidaa Tounes won parliamentary polls in October, making Essebsi the favorite to be president, but with powers curbed under constitutional amendments to guard against a return to dictatorship.
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius yesterday congratulated the country on its “milestone” vote.
“The successful staging of this presidential election confirms Tunisia’s historic role,” he said.
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