Tunisian president elected in landslide to fifth term

Oct 26, 2009, 4:46 GMT

   Tunis/Paris - Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was elected to a fifth term with 90 per cent of the vote, election results showed Monday.

   Nearly all of the votes have been counted from Sunday's election, confirming the widely expected victory for the man who has ruled the North African country for 22 years.

   Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally Party also did well in parliamentary elections, winning more than 80 per cent of the votes in many electoral districts, according to the Tunisia Online News website.

   One major opposition party called a boycott of the polls, in which Ben Ali, 73, ran against three little-known presidential candidates.

   During the campaign, Ben Ali promised to fight unemployment and raise per-capital income 40 per cent.

   His fifth term would be his last, according to the constitution, which forbids a candidate over 75 from running.

   Tunisia is considered the most stable country in the Arab world. It has economic growth of about 3 per cent, and in contrast to neighbouring Algeria, Islamist extremists have relatively little influence on Tunisian society.

   Critics, however, complain of repression and human rights abuses, particularly in regard to the political opposition.

   Ahead of the elections, the major opposition Progressive Democratic Party announced a poll boycott, charging that the election process was being manipulated. The party was blocked from competing in 17 districts after authorities ruled its applications ineligible.

   Another key opposition figure withdrew his candidacy just weeks before the election in protest against the conditions surrounding the election.