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Tunisia Elects Former Minister Essebsi President

by VOA News December 22, 2014

Tunisia has elected veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi in its first free presidential election since independence from France in 1956.

The Independent Higher Authority for Elections (ISIE) announced Monday that the 88-year-old former minister, who heads the Nidaa Tounes (Tunisia's Call) party, will replace incumbent President Moncef Marzouki after winning 56 percent of the vote.

Marzouki, 69, a former rights activist, had served as interim president since the so-called Arab Spring revolution began in 2011.

​​Later, Tunisian police fired teargas in Hamma, a southern city, to disperse hundreds of youths who burned tires and blocked streets to demonstrate against Essebsi's victory, residents said.

Essebsi was widely seen as the favorite after last month's first round of voting.

Sixty percent of Tunisian voters turned out for Sunday's election.

US reaction

U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated Essebsi on the victory, calling the election a 'vital step toward the completion of Tunisia's momentous transition to democracy.'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tunisia has provided 'a shining example to the region and the world of what can be achieved through dedication to democracy, consensus, and an inclusive political process.'

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.

Critics of Essebsi see his return as a setback for the 2011 uprising that ousted autocratic leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

In the first round of voting in November, the frontrunner Essebsi, a former parliament speaker under Ben Ali, won 39 percent of votes, while the current President Marzouki took 33 percent of the ballots.

With a new progressive constitution and a full parliament elected in October, Tunisia is hailed as an example of democratic change for a region still struggling with the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring revolts.

Some material for this report came from Reuters.