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Tunisia holds first post-revolution presidential poll | Tunisia holds first post-revolution presidential poll |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Tunisians are voting in the country's first presidential election since the 2011 "Arab Spring" that triggered uprisings across the region. | |
More than 25 candidates are in the race, but incumbent Moncef Marzouki and anti-Islamist leader Beji Caid Essebsi are widely seen as the favourites. | More than 25 candidates are in the race, but incumbent Moncef Marzouki and anti-Islamist leader Beji Caid Essebsi are widely seen as the favourites. |
The poll forms part of a political transition after the revolution that ousted Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. | |
A parliamentary vote was held in October. | A parliamentary vote was held in October. |
Tunisia - seen as the birthplace of the Arab Spring - is considered to have had the most successful outcome, with relatively low levels of violence. | |
'Security threats' | 'Security threats' |
Sunday's election will deliver the country's first directly elected leader since the removal of Mr Ben Ali. Most polling stations were opening at 08:00 (07:00 GMT) and due to close 10 hours later. | |
If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a run-off round will be held on 31 December. | If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a run-off round will be held on 31 December. |
"We were the first to enter this cycle of change which they have called the Arab Spring," Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa was quoted as saying on the eve of the poll. | |
"We will be the first [to make the transition] but others will follow," he added. | "We will be the first [to make the transition] but others will follow," he added. |
Mr Essebsi, from the Nidaa Tounes (Tunisia's Call) party, is the favourite to win after his party came first in the parliamentary election. | |
But critics say Mr Essebsi, an 87-year-old who served in the governments of post-independence leader Habib Bourguiba as well as Mr Ben Ali, represents the past. | |
Among the other candidates are Mr Marzouki, parliamentary Speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar, Republican Party leader Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, female magistrate Kalthoum Kannou and businessman Slim Riahi. | |
The Islamist party Ennahda, which led Tunisia's last government but was beaten by Nidaa Tounes in October's parliamentary election, did not field a candidate. | |
A statement from Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi spoke of wanting "to avoid deepening polarisation or dividing the country". Ennahda's rise had led to concerns among more secular-minded Tunisians that Islamists would dominate politics. | |
Tunisia is still facing the spectre of civil unrest and terrorism, with Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou warning of "serious security threats" near the Algerian border where al-Qaeda militants are said to be hiding. |