Economics
Tunisians Seeking Change Get an Unlikely President
- Outsider professor Kais Saied won presidency with 73% of votes
- New leader has tough task of uniting country, boosting economy
Kais Saied holds a news conference in Tunis, Tunisia on Oct. 13.
Photographer: Thierry Monasse/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
A law professor dubbed ‘Robot Man’ won Tunisia’s presidency by a landslide, but left open the question whether a political outsider can help bridge partisan rifts that have hampered an economic revival in the Arab Spring’s birthplace.
Kais Saied, a previously little-known law expert, beat media mogul Nabil Karoui in Sunday’s run-off vote, clinching 72.7% of ballots, according to the national elections commission. Saied, who was propelled to power by the North African nation’s disenchanted youth, has vowed to be a president “for all Tunisians,” as he promises constitutional changes he says are vital to complete the 2011 revolution.