Kais Saied has secured his re-election as Tunisia’s president with 90.69% of the votes, as announced by the electoral authority ISIE on Monday. The low voter turnout indicated a prevailing discontent in the birthplace of the Arab Spring pro-democracy movements.
Three years after making a significant power grab, rights groups have raised concerns regarding Saied’s re-election and the potential reinforcement of his control over the only democracy to emerge from the 2011 protests.
At 66 years old, the Tunisian President clinched Sunday’s election with an overwhelming 2.4 million votes, even though voter turnout was a mere 28.8 per cent out of almost 10 million eligible voters.
Ayachi Zammel, Saied’s imprisoned rival, received a mere 7.3 percent of the votes, while the third candidate, Zouhair Maghzaoui, obtained only 1.9 percent, as confirmed by ISIE Head Farouk Bouasker on national television.
Critics have pointed out that the low turnout reflects widespread disillusionment with the election process. ISIE’s announcement on Sunday revealed that only six per cent of the voters belonged to the 18-35 age group, which initially constituted a third of the eligible electorate.