TUNIS: Behind thelandslide victory of conservative political outsider Kais Saied in a runoffpresidential vote were millions of young voters, who describe him as a leaderworthy of their trust as Tunisia's democracy takes root. According to a poll bythe Sigma polling institute, around 90 percent of voters aged 18 to 25 votedfor political newcomer Saied, massively shunning his rival, business tycoonNabil Karoui.
"In thefirst round, I didn't think he would win. But now that he has won I can trulybelieve in the transparency of our elections," 20-year-old law studentMayssa Jlassi told AFP. "We had to everything possible to mobilize allyoung people like me to vote en masse" for Saied, she added. Jlassi joineda volunteer group that went door-to-door, with very modest means, to canvassfor votes for her candidate. Saied, a 61-year-old retired law professor,scooped 72.71 percent of votes, official results showed.
According to Sigma'sdata, Tunisians were sharply divided by age group. The older the voter, themore likely his or her ballot went to Karoui, who swept up 50.8 percent of theover-60s' votes. "The main reason for (Saied's) victory was theextraordinary mobilization of young people aged 18 to 25," said OlfaLamloum, director of the Tunis branch of the NGO International Alert, whichworks closely with young people. According to Sigma, 37 percent of young voterscast their ballot for Saied in the September 15 first round -- twice thenational average -- while the disparity was magnified further in Sunday'srunoff.
'Promise of realdemocracy'
Despite havingspearheaded the Arab Spring revolt that ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Aliin 2011, young people had largely shunned the ballot box in previous electionsin Tunisia's new democracy. This time was different. Saied "managed to winthe trust of young people... not with promises but by offering answers to thefailures of representative democracy", Lamloum told AFP.
Theanti-establishment Saied is seen as uptight and unwavering, and beneath hisaustere style is a commitment to socially conservative views that many youngpeople reject. But he has said he will respect the social freedoms enshrined inlaw in recent years that civil society groups have hailed as freedoms. And whathis young supporters see in him above all is an honest leader who is offeringthem the keys to building Tunisia's future.
Saied haspromised "to challenge the top-down nature of power and to change therules of the game of politics, which are the root cause for the exclusion ofyoung people", Lamloum said. For his acolytes, Saied represents "thepromise of real democracy, dignity, and a break from a political class that isdisconnected from the people and which is obsessed with power and itsprivileges", she added.
'Strong trust'
The incomingpresident has, in recent years, "established a strong relationship oftrust with young people, by meeting them across the country, thus building forhimself a circle of young people who ran his campaign for him",sociologist Mohamed Jouili said. French-language daily La Presse welcomed"a rekindling of interest among young people, from north to south Tunisia,in voting".
Ultimately, itwas this shift that decided the vote, "and that's great", wroteM'hamed Jaibi in an editorial. Turnout was 55 percent on Sunday, while justhalf of voters cast their ballots in the first round. The October 6parliamentary vote saw fewer voters still. Young people signed up to vote in anintense registration campaign. Those aged 18 to 35 now account for 63 percentof voters, official statistics show.
The electoralcommission has yet to release detailed official indicators of the turnout amongyoung voters, but all the signs appear to show it was higher than in any ofTunisia's previous free elections. On voting day, thousands of young peoplemobilized, many of them spontaneously, to organize carpools to go to pollingstations. - AFP