Latest reports suggest Tunisia’s Kais Saied has won Sunday’s presidential election with 76.9% of votes, according to state television.
The 61-year-old Saied is a jurist and law professor with no political party but backed by the moderate Islamist party Ennahda. He has pledged to fight corruption and support decentralisation.
Saied got more than 50 percent of the votes than media mogul Nabil Karoui. Karoui, who came second in the first round of voting, got 23.11% of votes this time, reported Africa News. The two won more votes than any of the other 24 candidates in the first-round last month. Saied took 18.4% and Karoui 15.6% among a total of 26 candidates.
The media mogul campaigned from prison after being arrested on charges of money laundering and tax fraud. He denies the charges and officials have warned he may appeal, arguing he has not been allowed a fair campaign.
The exit poll result announcement triggered celebrations at Saied’s election campaign offices in central Tunis.
Shortly after the announcement, Saied appeared before his supporters in Tunis and thanked “young people for turning a new page” in Tunisia’s history.
“We will try to build a new Tunisia. Young people led this campaign, and I am responsible for them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Karoui has said he would decide whether to appeal the result after the electoral commission announces the official vote tally.
Election in Tunisia was brought forward after the death of Tunisia’s first democratically elected president, Beji Caid Essebsi, in July.
According to the electoral commission, the turnout stood at 38.2 percent three hours before the voting ended on Sunday. The participation of the Tunisian people in the voting was higher than that of last week’s legislative elections. Notably, no official results have yet been published. The results are expected to be made available on Monday.
