Tunis [Tunisia], October 8 : Tunisian President Kais Saied has won a second term in the presidential election of the northern African country, Al Jazeera reported.
In a televised statement, the head of the Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia (ISIE) said that Saied won 90.7 per cent of the vote.
Tunisia, a small country in Northern Africa is touted as the birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring revolution which saw a wave of democracy spread across the Arab states. Despite the popular uproar generated during the movement amongst various member states, Tunisia has been hailed as the only relative success story of this revolution.
It was observed that senior figures from the biggest parties of the country which largely oppose Saied, have been imprisoned over a year, and the other opponents were also barred from running.
Imprisoned figures include Abir Moussi, head of the Free Constitutional Party, and the young leader Ayachi Zammel of the liberal Azimoun party, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison on election-related offences. Demonstrators had taken to the streets of Tunisia to raise concerns about this issue.
The 66-year-old former law professor, Saied, said that he had no political or campaigning experience before he was elected President in 2019. He won that election on a ticket to end corruption and promote equity, largely buoyed by a groundswell of support from young voters, Al Jazeera noted.
However, Saied has rejected criticism of his actions, saying he is fighting a "corrupt elite" and "traitors".
In his first comments since exit polls on Sunday predicted his win, Saied told state television: "This is a continuation of the revolution."
"We will build and will cleanse the country of the corrupt, traitors and conspirators," he said.
The present election cycle has been widely regarded as unfair by political pundits as Saied has assumed authority in the backdrop of a constitutional coup in 2021.
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