88-Year-Old Wins Tunisian Election

Veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi declared victory Sunday in Tunisia’s first free presidential election, nearly four years after the Arab Spring. Official results confirmed the result Monday evening after unofficial exit polls estimated Essebsi, an 88-year-old former parliament speaker under Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, at 55 percent of the vote, while incumbent Moncef Marzouki captured only 45 percent. Marzouki had refused to concede and said the results were too close to call. The election is the first time Tunisians have freely elected a president since 1956, when they won their independence from France.