Outsiders claim lead in first round of Tunisian presidential vote

Two anti-establishment candidates claimed the lead in the first round of Tunisia’s presidential election on Sunday, in a poll focused on high unemployment and a surge in the cost of living.

Kais Saied, a 61-year-old law professor and expert on constitutional affairs who ran as an independent, claimed to be in pole position.

He finished “first in the first round”, he said, citing exit polls ahead of preliminary results expected to be announced on Tuesday.

There was also an upbeat atmosphere at the party headquarters of jailed media mogul Nabil Karoui, behind bars due to a money laundering probe, as hundreds of supporters celebrated after he also claimed to have reached the second round.

Twenty-four candidates were standing in the election, the second since longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was removed in the 2011 revolution.

The elections commission (ISIE) reported turnout was only 45 percent, down from 64 percent recorded in the first round in 2014.

 

Via Al Jazeera

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