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Tunisia’s Presidential Runoff Is a Rebuke of Its New Political Establishment

Tunisia’s Presidential Runoff Is a Rebuke of Its New Political Establishment
A man reads the Al-Shorouk daily newspaper showing candidates Kais Saied, right, and Nabil Karoui on its front page, a day after the first round of presidential elections, in Tunis, Tunisia, Sept. 16, 2019 (AP photo by Mosa’ab Elshamy).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

Tunisia’s presidential race is headed to a runoff next month between two surprising candidates: a law school professor who barely bothered to campaign and a media mogul who spent Election Day in jail.

Analysts are reading the results as a sharp rebuke of the new political establishment that has emerged since the overthrow of autocratic leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Neither Kais Saied, the professor, nor business tycoon Nabil Karoui has ever held elected office. They drew 18.4 percent and 15.6 percent of the vote, respectively, amid a less than 50 percent voter turnout.

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