Tunisia Veteran Politician Essebsi declares winner in Presidential votes 


Veteran secular politician Beji Caid Essebsi has been declared winner in Tunisia's presidential run-off vote, seen as the last step in a shift to full democracy four years after an uprising toppled long-time leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Soon after polls closed, Essebsi, an 88-year-old former parliament speaker under Ben Ali, announced that he had won by a clear margin and jubilant supporters took to the streets of the capital in celebration, chanting "Beji President!"

Reports say victory for Essebsi would enable him to consolidate power, with his new secular party, Nidaa Tounes (Call for Tunisia) already controlling parliament after defeating the main Islamist party in legislative elections in October.

"I dedicate my victory to the martyrs of Tunisia. I thank Marzouki, and now we should work together without excluding anyone," Essebsi told local television.

But Marzouki's campaign manager, Adnen Monsar, dismissed the claim and said it was still too close to call.

The landmark second-round vote sets Tunisia apart from the turmoil of other Arab countries that went through uprisings that started in 2011 and were known by some as "the Arab Spring".

An hour before polls closed, election officials reported a turnout of 48 percent, suggesting voter fatigue in a country with around 5.3 million registered voters, voting for the third time in two months.

Turnout in the previous two contests was just under 70 percent of registered voters.

The election was held amid tight security and the closure of main border posts with strife-torn neighbor Libya and is considered Tunisia's first free presidential election since independence from France in 1956.

"This election doesn't interest me,'' said a young man sitting in a crowded cafe in front of a polling station in the capital Tunis' lower income neighborhood of Yasmina. 

"I voted before, but I feel the candidates lie. They promise to create jobs for the youth and improve living conditions, but they don't keep them."


SOURCE: Aljazeera News