Tunisia held Presidential elections on Sunday 25 October. We did not have formal observers, but Embassy staff paid close attention during the campaign and on election day. And we compared notes with other Embassies in Tunis who did the same.
The result, a fifth term for President Ben Ali, came as no surprise to Tunisians. Colleagues in the Tunisian government have pointed to the reduction in his percentage of the vote from 94% last time to 89% this time as an indication that political life here is evolving. They say the same about the increase in opposition seats in the legislature.
Certainly plurality at the political level can make a positive contribution to ensuring healthy debate on policy issues. I look forward to the continuing development of that kind of debate here.
Posted at 11:22 27 October 2009 by Christopher O'Connor | Comments[0]
- Share this with:
-
-
-
-
-