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2019 Tunisian presidential election

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2019 Tunisian presidential election
← 2014 15 September 2019 (first round)
13 October 2019 (second round)		 2024 →
Turnout48.98% (first round)[1]
55.02% (second round)[2]
 
Candidate Kais Saied Nabil Karoui
Party Independent Heart of Tunisia
Popular vote 2,777,931 1,042,894
Percentage 72.71% 27.29%
President before election

Mohamed Ennaceur (interim)
Nidaa Tounes

Elected President

Kais Saied
Independent

Politics of Tunisia

African Union Member State of the African Union

Arab League Member State of the Arab League
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Presidential elections were held in Tunisia on 15 September 2019,[3] the second direct vote for the presidency since the 2011 revolution.[4] The elections had originally been planned for 17 and 24 November,[5] but were brought forward after the death of incumbent president Beji Caid Essebsi on 25 July to ensure that a new president would take office within 90 days, as required by the constitution.

As no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff was held on 13 October between the top two candidates, Kais Saied and Nabil Karoui. Saied won the second round with 72.7% of the vote.[6]

Background

In April 2019, incumbent President Beji Caid Essebsi said that he would not seek re-election, opening the candidate field to other candidates. However, Essebsi died on 25 July at age 92, with five months left in his term. The President of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, Mohamed Ennaceur, became interim president, according to the Constitutional provision for presidential succession.[7] According to Article 84 of the Tunisian constitution, an interim president may serve for a maximum of 90 days, meaning Ennaceur's role is due to expire on 23 October 2019.[8][better source needed] In order to comply with this, the High Authority for Elections announced the election will be held sooner than scheduled,[9] being moved up from 17 and 24 November to 15 September and 13 October.[10]

Electoral system

The President of Tunisia is directly elected by universal suffrage using the two-round system. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round is held between the top two candidates.[11] Candidates must be at least 35 years old on the day of filing for candidacy, and are also required to be Muslim. Candidates must have Tunisian citizenship, and are required give up any other citizenship they hold.

Electoral reform controversy

On 18 June 2019, the Assembly of Representatives passed amendments to the country's electoral law, accused by some of blocking candidates like Nabil Karoui and Olfa Terras from being eligible to run in the election.[12] The amendments prohibited those with a criminal record, as well as those who run charitable organizations or received foreign funding for political advertising in the year preceding an election.[13] On 25 June, members of Nidaa Tounes and the Popular Front filed a motion in the Assembly of Representatives, calling the move unconstitutional.[13]

Candidates

Approved candidates

Image Candidates Party Reference
Mohamed Abbou Democratic Current [14]
Saïd Aïdi Beni Watani [15]
Hatem Boulabiar Independent [16]
Abid Briki Tunisia Forward [17]
Youssef Chahed Long Live Tunisia [18]
Selma Elloumi Al Amal [19]
Elyes Fakhfakh Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties [20]
Hechmi Hamdi Current of Love [21]
Hamma Hammami Popular Front [22]
Néji Jalloul Independent [23]
Hamadi Jebali Independent [24]
Mehdi Jomaa Tunisian Alternative [25]
Nabil Karoui Heart of Tunisia [26]
Seifeddine Makhlouf Dignity Coalition [27]
Omar Mansour Independent [28]
Mohsen Marzouk Machrouu Tounes [29]
Moncef Marzouki Al-Irada [30]
Abdelfattah Mourou Ennahda Movement [31]
Abir Moussi Free Destourian Party [32]
Lotfi Mraihi Union of the Republican People [33]
Mohamed Esghaier Nouri Independent [34]
Mongi Rahoui Popular Front [35]
Slim Riahi New National Union N/A
Safi Saïd Independent (supported by People's Movement) [36][37]
Kais Saied Independent [38]
Abdelkrim Zbidi Independent (supported by Nidaa Tounes) [39]

Rejected candidates

  • Mounir Baatour,[40] the first openly LGBT candidate in the Arab world.[41] Leader of the Liberal Party.

Candidates who declined to run

Televised debates

For the first time in the country's history, presidential election debates were held in Tunisia. Organised by the Munathara Initiative and sanctioned by Tunisia's election authority, ISIE, the debates were held on 7, 8 and 9 September 2019. The debates were broadcast on 11 public and private Tunisian TV channels, on Al Jazeera, as well as on Algerian, Libyan, and Iraqi TV stations.[44] Some three million viewers, or 42 percent of the country's registered voters, followed the first debate. The figure does not include live streaming audiences or audiences outside Tunisia.[45]

Participating candidates in the ISIE-sanctioned debates[46]
Candidate

 P  Present  A  Absent  I  Invited  O  Invited to other debate  W  Withdrawn

1A - 7 Sept 1B - 8 Sept 1C - 9 Sept
Abbou P O O
Aïdi O O P
Boulabiar O P O
Briki P O O
Chahed O O P
Elloumi O O P
Fakhfakh O P O
Hamdi O P O
Hammami O O P
Jalloul P O O
Jebali O P O
Jomaa P O O
Karoui A O O
Makhlouf O O P
Mansour P O O
Marzouk O P O
Marzouki P O O
Mourou P O O
Moussi P O O
Mraihi O P O
Nouri O P O
Rahoui O P O
Riahi O O A
Safi Saïd O O P
Kais Saied O O P
Zbidi O P O

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2019 Tunisian presidential election

Results

Candidate Party First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Kais Saied Independent 620,711 18.40 2,777,931 72.71
Nabil Karoui Heart of Tunisia 525,517 15.58 1,042,894 27.29
Abdelfattah Mourou Ennahda Movement 434,530 12.88
Abdelkrim Zbidi Independent 361,864 10.73
Youssef Chahed Long Live Tunisia 249,049 7.38
Safi Saïd Independent 239,951 7.11
Lotfi Mraihi Republican People's Union 221,190 6.56
Seifeddine Makhlouf Dignity Coalition 147,351 4.37
Abir Moussi Free Destourian Party 135,461 4.02
Mohamed Abbou Democratic Current 122,287 3.63
Moncef Marzouki Movement Party 100,338 2.97
Mehdi Jomaa Tunisian Alternative 61,371 1.82
Mongi Rahoui Popular Front 27,355 0.81
Hechmi Hamdi Current of Love 25,284 0.75
Hamma Hammami Independent 23,252 0.69
Elyes Fakhfakh Ettakatol 11,532 0.34
Saïd Aïdi Beni Watani 10,198 0.30
Omar Mansour Independent 10,160 0.30
Mohsen Marzouk Machrouu Tounes 7,376 0.22
Hamadi Jebali Independent 7,364 0.22
Néji Jalloul Independent 7,166 0.21
Abid Briki Tunisia Forward 5,799 0.17
Selma Elloumi Rekik Al Amal 5,093 0.15
Mohamed Esghaier Nouri Independent 4,598 0.14
Slim Riahi New National Union 4,472 0.13
Hatem Boulabiar Independent 3,704 0.11
Blank votes 23,867 – 15,912 –
Invalid votes 68,344 – 55,348 –
Total 3,465,184 100.00 3,892,085 100.00
Registered voters/turnout 7,074,566 48.98 7,074,566 55.02
Source: ISIE, ISIE

References

  1. ^ "Tunisia: How a cooking contest has brought rural voters to the ballot box". france24.com. 13 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Official Announcement by the Independent High Authority for Elections Regarding Results of the Second Round of the 2019 Presidential Election" (PDF). Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia. 14 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Tunisie: l'élection présidentielle reprogrammée au 15 septembre". Le Figaro/Reuters (in French). 25 July 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Tunisia set to hold second free presidential election". BBC. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Tunisia delays presidential elections by one week to Nov 17". Reuters. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  6. ^ Tunisians Seeking Change Get an Unlikely President Bloomberg, 14 October 2019
  7. ^ "Tunisia parliament speaker Ennaceur to serve as temporary president". Reuters. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Tunisia's Constitution of 2014" (PDF). Constitute Project. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Tunisia's first freely elected president dies". BBC. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Exclusive: Tunisia presidential run-off vote set for October 13".
  11. ^ "Tunisians vote in unpredictable presidential contest". Al Jazeera. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  12. ^ Daou, Marc (20 June 2019). "En Tunisie, un code électoral "taillé sur mesure pour éliminer certains candidats"". France 24 (in French). Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Tunisie: recours contre une modification du code électoral". L'Orient-Le Jour (in French). 25 June 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  14. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Abbou meets with Jendouba locals". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Presidential election: Beni Watani's Saïd Aïdi campaigns in Sfax". Tunis Afrique Presse. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  16. ^ "2019 Presidential campaign: Independent Hatem Boulabiar in Ariana". Tunis Afrique Presse. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Presidential race: Abid Briki in Zarzis". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  18. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Youssef Chahed ends his campaign in Manouba". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  19. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Salma Elloumi inaugurates party premises in Beja". Tunis Afrique Presse. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  20. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Elyes Fakhfakh in Bab Souika for his campaign". Tunis Afrique Presse. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  21. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Hamdi campaigns in El Kef". Tunis Afrique Presse. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  22. ^ "Presidential polls: Hammami campaigns in Bizerte". Tunis Afrique Presse. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Presidential race: Neji Jalloul campaigns in Gafsa". Tunis Afrique Presse. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Presidential Race 2019: Hammadi Jebali in Tataouine for electoral campaign". Tunis Afrique Presse. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  25. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Mehdi Jomaa campaigns in Sousse". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  26. ^ "Court of Cassation rejects appeal filed by Nabil Karoui's defence lawyers". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Presidential race: Dignity Coalition candidate Seifeddine Makhlouf campaigns in Kebili". Tunis Afrique Presse. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Presidential elections 2019: Omar Mansour campaigns in Ariana". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  29. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Mohsen Marzouk campaigns in Mejel Bel Abbès". Tunis Afrique Presse. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  30. ^ "Presidential race: Moncef Marzouki campaigns in Gabes and Medenine". Tunis Afrique Presse. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  31. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Mourou in election meeting in Sousse". Tunis Afrique Presse. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  32. ^ "Presidential election 2019: Abir Moussi in Siliana for electoral campaign". Tunis Afrique Presse. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  33. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Lotfi Meraihi ends his campaign in Nabeul". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  34. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Mohamed Sghaier continues campaign in Kasserine". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  35. ^ "2019 Presidential Polls: Rahoui campaigns in Manouba". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  36. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Safi Said in Gafsa". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  37. ^ "Presidential vote: Safi Saïd campaigns in El Hamma". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  38. ^ "2019 Presidential Race: Kaîs Saîd campaigns in Sfax". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  39. ^ "2019 Presidential Polls : Zbidi in sfax for election campaign". Tunis Afrique Presse. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  40. ^ Ahlem Mimouna (15 August 2019). "Who will be Tunisia's next president? Here's the shortlist". Middle East Eye.
  41. ^ Simon Speakman Cordall (14 July 2019). "Meet the man hoping to become the Muslim world's first openly gay president". Independent.
  42. ^ "Tunisie – AUDIO : Samia Abbou candidate aux présidentielles ?". Tunisie Numerique (in French). 16 February 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  43. ^ "Tunisia's 92-year-old president will not seek re-election". BBC. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  44. ^ "Tired of TV debates? In Arab world, they're historic, and inspiring". Christian Science Monitor. 2019-09-11. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  45. ^ "Près de 3 millions de téléspectateurs devant le premier débat de la présidentielle". Al HuffPost Maghreb (in French). 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  46. ^ "Élection présidentielle: Le tirage au sort des débats du premier tour". Al HuffPost Maghreb (in French). 31 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
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