Saied secures re-election in Tunisia with an "ideal outcome"
Given the circumstances surrounding Tunisia's presidential elections, the outcome isn't shocking: incumbent Saied triumphs with a "landslide victory", as per exit polls. Before the election, he had a solid base of support ensuring his victory. The Tunisian president, Kais Saied, has been re-elected with a massive majority, according to exit polls. Exit polls conducted on voters leaving polling stations revealed a dominating 89.2% in favor of the incumbent president, who has served for five years, as mentioned on national television in the evening. The increasingly authoritarian Saied found no serious competition in the election, making his re-election a formality. According to exit polls from the Sigma Conseil institute, Saied's only rival candidates in the election garnered insignificant single-digit results: liberal industrialist Ayachi Zemmal earned 6.9% of the vote, and former MP Zouhair Maghzaoui gathered 3.9%. Tunisia's main opposition leaders are either imprisoned or prohibited from contesting in the presidential election. The preliminary unofficial election results will be disclosed "at the latest" on Wednesday, as per the election commission's statement. Voter turnout was low, with only 27.7% of the 9.7 million eligible voters casting their ballots. This is the lowest turnout in a presidential election in Tunisia since the 2011 revolution, which toppled longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali following mass protests. Tunisia is renowned as the epicenter of the "Arab Spring". Saied was initially elected president in 2019 with an overwhelming 73% of the vote in a democratic election. However, he has since transformed into an increasingly authoritarian leader, disbanding parliament in 2021 and ousting the Supreme Judicial Council while installing the chairman of the election commission to his preference. In the summer of 2022, he orchestrated a referendum on a constitutional amendment that effectively solidified his power as the lone ruler. Since February 2023, individuals and businesses opposing the president have been detained, followed by the imprisonment of prominent trade unionists, civil rights activists, and journalists in 2024.
The Tunisian Commission announced that the preliminary election results will be revealed on Wednesday, as per their statement. Despite low voter turnout, The Commission acknowledged that the incumbent President Saied has secured a massive majority in the elections.
