Tunisia

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A conservative, Islamist-backed law professor looked set to assume Tunisia’s presidency after polling agencies suggested he overwhelmingly won Sunday’s runoff election in the country that unleashed the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings.

Kais Saied’s supporters exploded with joy, celebrating on the main boulevard of Tunis, and Saied thanked his supporters and announced plans to travel to neighboring Libya and Algeria and to champion the Palestinian cause.

TUNIS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Polling stations in Tunisia's 27 constituencies opened at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) local time on Sunday to start the second round of presidential election.

Kais Saied, an independent candidate and a constitutional professor winning 18.4 percent of the votes in the first round, faces Nabil Karoui, leader of the Heart of Tunisia party who got 15.58 percent of the votes in the first round of the election held on Sept. 15.

TUNIS (Reuters) - If he wins Sunday’s election, media mogul Nabil Karoui will only have to stroll up one of Tunisia’s most expensive streets to move from his own home into the presidential palace.

For his opponent Kais Saied, the journey would be very different: through poor districts where the 2011 revolution flared and where the cafes are filled with unemployed young men.

TUNIS, Oct 10 (NNN-TAP) – Tunisia’s Islamist party “Ennahdha” (Renaissance), ranked first in Tunisian parliamentary elections by winning 52 seats, the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) said, on Wednesday evening.

The Heart of Tunisia party came second, with 38 seats out of 217 seats in the Assembly of People’s Representatives (parliament), despite its leader, Nabil Karoui, was in prison for suspicion of money laundering and tax evasion.

9 Oct 2019; MEMO: Tunisia’s Ennahda party has announced the conditions it has set for other parties to enter into an alliance with it in order to form a government.

Exit polls following Tunisia’s parliamentary elections, which took place on Sunday, showed Ennahda in first place with 17.5 per cent of the votes, comparing with 15.6 per cent for Heart of Tunisia party.

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisians began voting on Sunday for a parliament that must address chronic economic problems at a moment when political newcomers are mounting a challenge to the established parties.

Voters queued outside polling stations in the capital Tunis, only eight years after rising up to throw off autocratic rule and introduce democracy in a revolution that inspired the “Arab Spring”.

TUNIS, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A presidential candidate in Tunisia who reached the final stage of the election is set to remain in custody after failing to win an appeal to be freed.

Nabil Karoui, 56, was detained last month on charges of money laundering and tax fraud, which he denies.

The media mogul was still able to stand despite his arrest but he was not allowed to vote. He reached the run-off vote which is expected next month.

On Wednesday, a judge refused to rule on whether or not he would be released.

(Reuters) - A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Tunisia on Tuesday drowning at least two people with nine rescued and another 14 missing, a coastguard official said.

The boat sank six miles (10km) from the coastline near the city of Sfax, Houssem Jebabli told Reuters, adding that the rescue operation continued.

There have been two migrant shipping disasters off the Tunisian coast this year, with 86 African migrants drowned after their boat capsized having set off for Europe from Libya in July.

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisians are casting ballots in their North African country’s second democratic presidential election, choosing among 26 candidates for a leader who can safeguard its young democracy and tackle its unemployment, corruption and economic despair.

The voting followed a noisy but brief campaign — 12 days — marked by backbiting and charges of corruption among the contenders. All vowed to boost the country’s flagging economy and protect it from further deadly attacks by Islamist extremists.

14 Sep 2019; MEMO: The voting process for the Tunisian presidential elections for nationals living abroad in six electoral circles has begun on Friday at dawn. This will continue until 15 September, the date of commencement of the voting process within Tunisia.