Tunisia president en route to re-election with over 89%
Tunisia’s incumbent President Kais Saied is set to win the country’s presidential election with 89.2% support despite a low turnout, AFP reported.
Saied, 66, is expected to win by a landslide, routing his challengers – imprisoned rival Ayachi Zammel, who was set to collect 6.9% of the vote, and Zouhair Maghzaoui, with 3.9%, said independent polling group Sigma Conseil.
Three years after Saied staged a sweeping power grab, rights groups fear re-election will only further entrench his rule in the country, which became the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings.
The Tunisian electoral board, ISIE, has said about 9.7 million people were eligible to vote, in a country whose population is around 12 million.
Only 27.7% of voters turned out to cast their ballots, it said.
Over 58% were men, and 65% aged between 36 and 60.
ISIE had barred 14 candidates from joining the race, citing insufficient endorsements, among other technicalities.
The board is set to announce the official election results on Monday.
This year’s turnout figure compared to 45% in 2019 and is the lowest the country has recorded in a presidential vote since its 2011 revolution.
