In Tunisia, the announcement came this Sunday evening just after the closing of the polling stations. Outgoing President Kaïs Saïed is declared the winner with more than 89% of the votes in the first round of the presidential election, according to a poll by a private institute broadcast on national television. A survey which is already having consequences on the ground.
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With our correspondent in Tunis, Amira Souilem
“ We must wait for the results of the independent higher body for the elections, but the results which were announced recently, which are exit polls, are, as in all countries, close to reality. », announced Kaïs Saïed following the announcement made on national television. Immediately after the broadcast of these figures in question, several hundred supporters of the president took to Bourguiba Avenue to celebrate what they already consider to be a victory for their candidate.
A participation of 27.7%, according to Isie
In Tunisia, Kaïs Saïed – former legal assistant – continues to appear to a significant segment of the population as a man of integrity and a barrier against the return of the old elite which dominated Tunisian political life after the revolution and in particular the Islamist party Ennahdha.
Joy on one side and amazement on the other. Zouhaïr Maghzaoui, one of the two other candidates, called an emergency meeting in which he announced that he did not give credence to these figures and asked the army to protect the electoral process. “ Unfortunately, the survey that was made public is not reliableassures Zouhaïr Maghzaoui, former deputy and leader of an Arab nationalist party. It is a maneuver to prepare public opinion for the results which will probably be revealed tomorrow. I want to ask our security forces and our army to protect the electoral process from all the dangers that await it. »
For the moment, the only official figure that has been disclosed by Isie is that of the participation which stood at 27.7%. Which makes it the lowest rate for the first round of a presidential election since the overthrow of Ben Ali in 2011.
Also readPresidential election in Tunisia: low participation of 27.7% compared to 45% in 2019