Tunisia: Voters reject coalition party candidates

According to BBC News reporting on 17 September 2019, following the presidential election held on 15 September two outsiders will compete in a run-off vote, probably to be held in October. The leading candidate, Kais Saied, is a law professor and won 18.4% of the vote as an independent. Nabil Karoui, a media mogul, came in second with 15.6%. He set up his own party and is currently in prison on corruption charges. Michael Bosch, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "This election result is a vote against the current establishment and does not show in which direction - Islamist or secular - the Tunisians want their country to develop. Only 45% turned up to vote and both candidates for the run-off are populists and do not seem to have a clear agenda. It is known that Saied has a conservative Islamic view on social issues, while Karoui campaigned against the rising Islamist influence in politics after 2011. For that reason, Karoui would seem to be the better option for the small Christian community, but it is impossible to predict how the candidates may develop, if elected president."