Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali: fifth term in office

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ZEIN AL-ABIDINE bin Ali, the president of Tunisia, has been elected to a fifth term in office with 90 per cent of the vote in a contest described by Human Rights Watch as having taken place in "an atmosphere of repression". US official reaction was "concerned" but committed to working with Bin Ali to "advance the partnership between Tunisia and the United States". Bin Ali, president for 22 years, won against three challengers, two of whom do not even criticise the president. The third, Ahmed Brahim of the Movement for Renewal, considered Bin Ali's only real opponent, commented, "Sadly, our country has lost a chance to move from a system in which there is one opinion and one decision-maker to a different political scene in which there is genuine pluralism." He came last with 1.5 per cent of the vote. Bin Ali warned against any criticism of the elections and threatened anyone "spreading lies to damage the country's image" with prosecution. His Constitutional Democratic Party also won 161 seats in the 214-seat parliament, where 20 per cent of seats are reserved for "opposition parties" and 20 per cent for women.

photos: AFP