Tunisia Re-elects Zine Al-Abidine as President

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By Adebayo Somuyiwa

Published: October 26, 2009

Tunisia Re-elects Zine Al-Abidine as President

Adebayo Somuyiwa

 Ben Ali has been in power for 23 years and this will be his fifth term as president. Sunday’s poll was the first time he has won with less than 94 per cent of the votes. Ben Ali’s party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally, also secured the vast majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the parliament’s legislative branch. However, opposition leaders claim tailor-made laws prevented the candidates from some of the stronger opposition parties from running, while Human Rights Watch claimed there were severe constraints on freedoms of expression, the press, and the assembly. Reporters without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists also accused Tunisia of repressing media freedom.

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