Jailed Media Magnate, Independent Candidate Going For Tunisia Presidential Runoff - Poll

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published September 16, 2019 | 04:00 AM

TUNIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2019) A law professor with no party affiliation and jailed media tycoon Nabil Karoui are making it into the second round of Tunisia's presidential election, exit poll data shows.

Media magnate Karoui, who was detained in August on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering, has won 15.5 percent of the votes, a poll conducted by Sigma Conseil projects, as cited by Tunisian media on Sunday.

According to the poll, constitutional law professor Rais Saied, who is an independent candidate in the Tunisian presidential election, has surpassed Karoui, securing 19.

5 percent of the votes.

Karoui's official spokesperson confirmed to Sputnik that there was polling data showing that the candidate had made it into the second round.

Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has only won 7.5 percent of the votes, while Defense Minister Abdelkarim Zbidi has 9.4 percent, the poll data showed.

The first round of the presidential election in Tunisia took place on Sunday, with voters having had over 20 candidates to choose from. The official results are expected on Tuesday.

According to Tunisia's authorities, the turnout was 45 percent.