Tunisian Election Winner Did Not Benefit From Opponent's Detention - Election Commission

An official from Tunisia's Independent High Electoral Commission told Sputnik that Kais Saied won Sunday's presidential election fairly, without benefiting from rival Nabil Karaoui's incarceration during the majority of the campaign

TUNIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2019) An official from Tunisia's Independent High Electoral Commission told Sputnik that Kais Saied won Sunday's presidential election fairly, without benefiting from rival Nabil Karaoui's incarceration during the majority of the campaign.

"Kais Saied did not benefit in one way or another from the absence of his rival and his presence in prison" Nabil Bouaskar, vice president of the commission, said, referring to Karaoui's August arrest on money laundering charges.

Karaoui was behind bars during the first round of voting, with some stipulating that his detention had a positive impact on his campaign, pulling him into the second round to face off against Saied.

"The release of the other candidate before the [period of campaigning] silence allowed him to participate in his campaign, which he did by conducting a televised debate and television interviews and I think this issue is no longer on the table" Bouaskar went on to say, adding that Karaoui maintains the constitutional right to appeal the results.

According to exit polls, Saied beat Karaoui with about 70 percent of the vote, mobilizing Tunisia's youth with an independent, door-to-door campaign.

"The percentage of voters has evolved considerably, nearly 60 percent coming out to vote, approximately 4 million Tunisian voters." Bouaskar said before adding that the commission was satisfied with the election process and that only minor, isolated incidents were reported.

Official results will be shared at 5:00 p.m. on Monday.