Tunis – Conservative candidate Kais Saïd (pictured above) won the presidential election in Tunisia with 72.71% of the votes, TAP reported. The runoff was held last Sunday (13) and the Independent High Authority for Elections, announced the official preliminary results this Monday (14).
Saïd is a 61-year-old Law professor with a conservative bent and no party affiliation. He won against Nabil Karoui, a 56-year-old media mogul who is a member of the Qalb Tounes Party (Arabic for Heart of Tunisia). The defeated candidate was serving jailtime until October 9, when the court ordered that he was released.
Elections were moved ahead after president Béji Caïd Essebsi died last July. In Tunisia, the president is the head of state. Mohamed Ennaceur will hold the position as interim president until the elected president takes office. The prime minister, who gets picked by Parliament, is the head of government.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
