TUNIS: Tunisia’s electoral commission was expected to confirm that voters gave conservative political outsider Kais Saied a sweeping mandate to be the next president, thanks largely to young people who flocked to his side.
In a contest that reflected Tunisia’s shifting post-revolution political landscape, Saied, an independent, scooped up more than 70 per cent of the vote, polls showed — sweeping aside his rival, charismatic media magnate Nabil Karoui.
“He was elected very comfortably,” political scientist Selim Kharrat said.
With his three million estimated votes, Saied won double that of all 217 lawmakers combined who were elected in October 6 general elections.
This win “is a message to parliament,” Kharrat added. “Voters have opted for a plan to clean up politics, fight corruption, and give more power to local entities.”
Saied, a retired law professor with a rigid and austere demeanour that earned him the nickname “Robocop”, was carried to victory by young voters, wooed by his anti-establishment platform.
Around 90 per cent of 18- to 25-year-olds voted for Saied, according to estimates by the Sigma polling institute, compared with 49.2 per cent of voters over 60.
In his first reaction, Saied thanked the country’s young people “for turning a new page”, and vowed to try to build “a new Tunisia”.
Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Tunis on late Sunday to celebrate Saied’s victory, honking horns and singing the national anthem.
— AFP
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