Preliminary results from the Tunisian general elections seem to favour outsiders in the lead as the first round of the presidential elections from the country’s 24 counties trickle in. The elections which hundreds of observers have declared as free and devoid of violence is coming at a time many Tunisians want to push forward with political reforms.
An election seen as a major test of the only democracy to emerge from the 2011 Arab spring has 26 candidates, many of whom are political heavy weights will be vying for presidency including Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, Defence Minister Abdelkarim Zbidi, media mogul Nabil Karoui, and Abir Moussi, one of the two female candidates.
According to the electoral authority, Kais Saied is leading with 19 percent of the votes cast. Also the jailed presidential candidate and media mogul, Nabil Karoui is said to be among the top contestants from the results so far released. Speaking on the preliminary results, Mr. Kais Said said that his party is waiting for the official results, “but from what has been an announced so far show that I am first and foremost. It is a huge responsibility to this country and this people”.
Similarly, supporters of Nabil Karoui who was imprisoned since last month say he has qualified for the second round of elections. His wife, Salwa Smaoui noted that “being in the top two of the presidential election, among 26 candidates, means that you were clear, insisting that “no to oppression, no to poverty and no to marginalization. You said yes to the rule of law”, she added. This was as the Islamist party Ennahdha say they will wait till the results are officially released before commenting on the development.
“First, the only party responsible for announcing the official preliminary results is ISIE. We, at the head of Abdelfattah Mourou’s campaign, received the first results, whether from leaving the polling stations or from the results we receive as we go along, and we did not want to anticipate events,” said Samir Dilou, Abdelfattah Mourou’s campaign.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.