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| Tunisia election: Essebsi confirmed as winner of run-off | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi has been confirmed as winner of Tunisia's first free presidential poll. | Veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi has been confirmed as winner of Tunisia's first free presidential poll. |
| He secured 55.68% of the vote in Sunday's run-off, defeating caretaker president Moncef Marzouki (44.32%), the head of the electoral commission said. | He secured 55.68% of the vote in Sunday's run-off, defeating caretaker president Moncef Marzouki (44.32%), the head of the electoral commission said. |
| Mr Marzouki, a 67-year-old former exile, earlier refused to admit defeat. | Mr Marzouki, a 67-year-old former exile, earlier refused to admit defeat. |
| Mr Essebsi, 88, has urged all Tunisians to "work together" for stability but critics say his win marks the return of a discredited establishment. | Mr Essebsi, 88, has urged all Tunisians to "work together" for stability but critics say his win marks the return of a discredited establishment. |
| They point out that he served under President Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali, who was ousted in 2011 after the Arab Spring revolution triggered uprisings across the region. | |
| Mr Essebsi was also in the cabinet of Tunisia's first post-independence leader, Habib Bourguiba. |