The presidential elections in Tunisia put to the test its young democracy

Tunisia holds elections this Sunday, with one of the favorites in prisiónTúnez prohibits the full veil in public institutions after the last atentadosDos suicid

The presidential elections in Tunisia put to the test its young democracy
Tunisia holds elections this Sunday, with one of the favorites in prisiónTúnez prohibits the full veil in public institutions after the last atentadosDos suicide attacks in Tunisia cause at least one police officer dead and eight injured

When Mohamed Bouazizi , a street seller of fruit and vegetables fed up of the harassment of the police, was engulfed in flames on December 17, 2010 in front of the city Council of the tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, I would never have imagined that his gesture would trigger a wave of protests that shook the foundations of power in various north African countries throughout 2011. The young Bouazizi died in the hospital weeks after catching fire, but his immolation was the spark of what came to be known as the arab Spring.

Of the current turmoil-only the Tunisia came out with a transition to democracy, following the resignation of the dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and his flight to Saudi Arabia.

This Sunday, the country puts to the test the solidity of the new political stage. More than seven million tunisians eligible to vote are called to the polls to choose the successor of president Beji Caid Essebsi , died of illness last July. His sudden death forced her to move up the electoral calendar in the country, since its mandate expired at the end of November.

there is Not a clear favorite to win the victory, without that help to anticipate a result in the prohibition of post surveys. However, foreign companies have published surveys. One of them, the swiss company Stratege Consulting, situated at the head of the minister of Defence, Abdelkarim Zbidi , with 13.1% of the intended vote.

Another of the candidates most relevant is Nabil Karoui , a tycoon of the tv-style populist who is in prison following a complaint of corruption by a local NGO. The Court of Cassation of tunisia rejected on Friday an appeal against his detention on the 23rd of August to be declared incompetent to judge the case, according to the party Karoui, Qalb Tounes (Heart of Tunis). In the cited study demoscópico, the entrepreneur audiovisual contained in second place, eight tenths of Zbidi, but it has also come to be in first place in the other surveys.

His detention prevented him from participating in the debate between electoral candidates of the past weekend, a milestone in the young democracy throughout the country, since it was the first that was celebrated in its history. This week, the Electoral Observation Mission of the European Union urged the authorities to release the applicant, without which your calling has given fruits.Other applicants to the head of State is Moncef Marzouki, the president of the country until 2014; Abdel Fatah Mouro, interim president of the Parliament; the prime minister, Yusef Chahed, and the lawyer Abir Moussi, who represents those who still yearn for the dictatorship. They are joined by Kaies Said, a prominent lawyer, who could give the surprise, on the basis of Eph.

In total were presented 26 candidates who met the legal requirements, although in the last few hours have been retired two of them, which will support Abdelkarim Zbidi, so the contest is down to 24 hopefuls. However, your name will remain on the ballot and you can vote for them, according to the electoral authority.

Possible second-round

In the event that none of the fighting for the Presidency to obtain the absolute majority in hard-fought electoral race, there will be a second round before the 13th of October, although it still has not set a specific date. In addition to the presidential, the next 6 October will be held legislative elections, so that in the next few weeks will define the political future of Tunisia, which dependrá in good measure of the 1.5 million new voters.

The economic deprivation and unemployment of 15% continue to oppress the tunisian people in their day-to-day, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in 2016 will provided with a loan of 2,800 million dollars to four years, pressed to adopt measures that will revive the country, slowed by the high fiscal deficit and external, and inflation.

Date Of Update: 15 September 2019, 16:00