He scored 55.68 per cent of the votes cast in the December 21 presidential election runoff.
Beji Caid Essebsi, 88-year-old leader of the secular Nidaa Tounes party has won Sunday, December 21, 2014 presidential election runoff in Tunisia scoring 55.68 per cent of the votes cast, thereby defeating his rival, the caretaker President Moncef Marzouki who scored 44.3 per cent of the votes cast, BBC reported.
Talking after the official release of the election results by The Independent High Authority for Elections, the President-elect, Beji Caid Essebsi urged all Tunisians to "work together" for stability but critics say his win marks the return of a discredited establishment. The head of the Independent High Authority for Elections, Chafik Sarsar announced the election results. Mr Essebsi had more than 1.7 million votes against 1.3 million votes for his rival, Moncef Marzouki, RFI reported. The participation rate was reported to be 60.1 per cent.
Sunday's presidential runoff vote marked the final step in the country's transition to full democracy four years after an uprising toppled long-time leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Mr Essebsi was Parliament Speaker under former President Ben Ali and also served under the first post-independent leader of Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba. His party won the October 2014 legislative election. He won the first round of the presidential election in November scoring 39 per cent of the votes cast ahead of his runner up, Moncef Marzouki who won 33 per cent of the votes cast. Speaking after the close of the polls on December 21 in a local television, Essebsi said, "I dedicate my victory to the martyrs of Tunisia. I thank Marzouki, and now we should work together without excluding anyone," Aljazeera said.
Earlier on Monday, police fired tear gas in the southern city of Hamma to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who burned tyres in protest at Mr Essebsi's victory claims. It is the first time Tunisians have been able to vote freely for their president since independence from France in 1956.
