afrol News, 26 October - Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, has secured a fifth term after winning 89.62 percent of the votes in the 2009 presidential election over the weekend, the Interior Ministry has announced.

Local reports have said the president’s landslide victory testifies to the massive adherence of Tunisians both in the country and abroad to his insightful policy guidelines and his plans aimed at hoisting Tunisia to the rank of developed nations.

The president's ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) won 161 seats out of 214 available and also held on to the vast majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

The Sunday’s polls results, according to local reports, was the lowest percentage of the vote Mr Ben Ali has captured since taking power in a bloodless coup in 1987.

The head of the African Union observer delegation, Benjamin Boungolous, described Sunday's election as free and fair, but opposition groups cried foul, saying there was no genuine freedom of choice during the election.

In 2004, he had more than 94 percent of the vote - a drop from his previous victories, which fluctuated between 99.2 and 99.7 percent.

The runner-up Mohamed Bouchiha won only 5.01 percent of the vote and Ahmed Inoubli 3.80 percent. The third candidate, Ahmed Brahim of the Ettajdid, or the "change" movement, scored just 1.57 percent of the vote.

The registered voters for 2009 presidential polls were 4,974,707, with the voter turn out of 89.4 percent. The spoilt ballot papers were 8,891 while the votes cast were 4,438,497.

Mr Ben Ali has been in power for 23 years and this was his fifth election.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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