Tunisian President Wins Fourth Term as Expected
2004-10-25
 [AFP] |
President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, 68, was re-elected to a fourth term on Sunday (24 October) with 94.5 per cent of the vote. Opposition figures Mohamed Bouchiha of the Popular Unity Party and Mounir Béji of the Social Liberal Party received 3.78 per cent and 0.79 per cent, respectively. Critics insist the election was unfair, saying Bouchiha and Béji are associates of Ben Ali who only ran to give the election a democratic aura. Democratic Initiative Movement candidate Mohamed Ali Halouani, a figure critical of Ben Ali, and believed to have a popular base, won only 0.95 per cent.
Two other political parties, legally entitled to run, decided to boycott what they described as "an electoral masquerade". Tunisian police mobilised strongly in favor of Ben Ali, sparking protests by human rights groups.
Ben Ali's share of the vote decreased slightly compared to previous elections in1989, 1994 and 1999, in which he won nearly 99 per cent. In parallel legislative elections, six opposition parties managed to win 20 per cent of the seats in parliament. Ben Ali's ruling Constitutional Democratic Party swept the remaining 80 per cent. (albawaba.com)
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