Tunisian Presidential Election: Kais Saied’s Predicted Victory
In the recent Tunisian presidential election, an exit poll has forecasted a significant win for the current president, Kais Saied, with 89.2% of the votes. Saied, aged 66, competed against two other candidates: Zouhair Maghzaoui, a former ally and leader of the Chaab party, and businessman Ayachi Zammel. Zammel, who was seen as a major contender, was jailed last month, reducing the competition for Saied.
The election saw a voter turnout of 27.7%, slightly below the anticipated 30%. The Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia (ISIE) is expected to announce preliminary results by Wednesday. Mohamed Tlili Mansri, the board’s spokesman, had earlier predicted a higher turnout.
Many senior figures from Tunisia’s main political parties, who oppose Saied, have been imprisoned and did not support any candidates. Among them is Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahda party, which was influential after the 2011 “Arab Spring” protests.
Since his election in 2019, Saied has faced criticism for reversing democratic progress made after the revolution. He argues that his actions are aimed at combating corruption. Political tensions have risen, especially after an electoral commission disqualified three candidates, leading to protests.
Tunisia is also dealing with economic challenges, including low growth, high inflation, and unemployment, which have sparked further protests. Recently, lawmakers aligned with Saied reduced the administrative court’s power over election disputes, following the dissolution of the Supreme Judicial Council and the dismissal of judges in 2022. Saied also dissolved the parliament in 2021 and introduced a new constitution, which was approved in a referendum with a 30% turnout. The subsequent parliamentary run-off saw only an 11% turnout.
Doubts Revealed
Tunisian President -: The President of Tunisia is the head of state of Tunisia, a country in North Africa. The current president is Kais Saied.
Kais Saied -: Kais Saied is the current President of Tunisia. He is a politician and former law professor who became president in 2019.
Landslide -: In elections, a landslide means winning by a very large margin. It means one candidate gets a lot more votes than the others.
Exit poll -: An exit poll is a survey taken right after people have voted. It helps predict the outcome of an election before the official results are announced.
Zouhair Maghzaoui -: Zouhair Maghzaoui is one of the candidates who ran against Kais Saied in the Tunisian presidential election.
Ayachi Zammel -: Ayachi Zammel is another candidate who ran in the election but was jailed last month, which means he was put in prison.
Voter turnout -: Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who actually vote in an election. In this case, it was 27.7%.
Democratic gains -: Democratic gains refer to improvements in democracy, like fair elections and freedom of speech. Critics say Saied has reversed these in Tunisia.
Economic challenges -: Economic challenges mean problems related to money and the economy, like unemployment or inflation, which Tunisia is currently facing.
Preliminary results -: Preliminary results are the early results of an election before the final count is confirmed. They give an idea of who might win.
