Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied joins his supporters after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s President Kais Saied won re-election in a landslide victory after a campaign season that saw his opponents jailed alongside journalists, activists and attorneys.
The North African country’s Independent High Authority for Elections said Monday evening that Saied had won 90.7% of the vote — a reflection of how his supporters participated in Sunday’s race while the majority of his detractors chose to boycott.
His closest challenger, businessman Ayachi Zammel, won 7.4% of the vote after sitting in prison for the majority of campaign season facing multiple prison sentences for election-related crimes.
The election was Tunisia’s third since the 2011 Arab Spring, when protests for “bread, freedom and dignity” led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In the years that followed, Tunisia enshrined a new constitution and created a multiparty democracy. However, Saied began dismantling the country’s new institutions two years after taking office. In July 2021, he declared a state of emergency, suspended parliament and rewrote the constitutiuon to consolidate the power of the presidency.
Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied joins his supporters after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)Supporters of Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied celebrate after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)Tunisian President and candidate for re-election Kais Saied, center, and his wife Ichraf Chebil Saïed, leave a polling station after casting their votes, in Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 (AP Photo/Anis Mili)A voter casts his ballot at a polling station during the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 (AP Photo/Ons Abid)Tunisian President Presidential candidate Zouhair Maghzaoui prepares to cast his vote at a polling station during the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ons Abid)Supporters of Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied celebrate after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)CORRECTS TO NASIR DISTRICT – Tunisian President and candidate for re-election Kais Saied and his wife Ichraf Chebil Saïed, leave a polling station after casting their votes, at Nasr district of the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)A Tunisian voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)Voters and officials gather outside a polling station during the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)Ballot boxes inside a polling station during the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 (AP Photo/Ons Abid)Voters queue to cast their ballot outside a polling station during the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 (AP Photo/Ons Abid)Tunisian President Presidential candidate Zouhair Maghzaoui prepares to cast his vote at a polling station during the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ons Abid)Election officials count the votes after the presidential elections in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)Election officials count votes after the presidential elections in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)An election official stands next to a ballot box ahead of the vote counting after the presidential elections in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)Election officials open a ballot box to count votes after the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)Supporters of Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied celebrate after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)Supporters of Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied celebrate after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)
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