Calendar 
New protests erupt in Tunisia over Essibsi’s win
TUNIS - Protesters attacked buildings in the southern Tunisian city of Kebili on Wednesday, state TAP news agency reported, in the latest protests against the presidential electoral victory of veteran politician Beji Caid Essibsi.
The protesters torched a security outpost and the local headquarters of Essibsi’s Nida Tounes Party, the agency said, citing an unnamed security official.
No casualties or arrests were reported.
Several areas in Tunisia have seen riots in the past three days, in response Essibsi’s win.
His detractors see him as part of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime, the longtime autocrat who was ousted in the 2011 uprising.
Essibsi, a former prime minister, won 55.68 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s run-off. His rival, outgoing president Moncef Marzouki, received 44.32 per cent, initial official results showed on Monday.
The 88-year-old served in several high-ranking positions under the founder of independent Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba, and his successor Ben Ali.
“These threats are grave. We have to be viglant,” Essibsi told senior leaders in his anti-Islamist Nida Tounes Party, warning against what he called “internal threats to the Tunisian state.”
If these attempts succeed, all the efforts we have made will be wasted.
In recent months, Tunisia has experienced an increase in attacks by Islamist insurgents.
The presidential and legislative polls completed a democratic transition in Tunisia, the birth of the Arab Spring revolts.
Meanwhile, outgoing Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki is forming a new movement that he says will ensure that the country doesn’t revert back to being a dictatorship.
This follows ex-regime official Beji Caid Essebsi being named as the country’s new president.
Click on the video for more on the story.
- AFP
Category : POLITICS.
