Essebsi Leads Tunisia Presidential Vote

Local Editor

The head of Tunisia's secular Nidaa Tounes party, Beji Caid Essebsi, leads the country's presidential election with 39.46 percent of votes, six percentage points ahead of Moncef Marzouki, results showed on Tuesday.

Since there was no outright winner, a second round of voting will now be held, with the date depending on any appeals, the head of the ISIE elections body Chafik Sarsar told reporters.

Sunday's election was the first time Tunisians had voted freely for their head of state since independence from France in 1956.

The North African nation that sparked the uprising had known just two presidents- Habib Bourguiba and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was forced to flee on January 14, 2011 by a popular uprising.

Marzouki was elected president at the end of 2011 by the National Constituent Assembly under a coalition deal with the then ruling extremist Ennahda party, which came second in a parliamentary election behind Nidaa Tounes last month [October].

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team