Turkey to continue supporting democratic transition in Tunisia

Turkey will continue to support the democratic transition process in Tunisia, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement today.

According to a statement, the Tunisian people passed the “democratic exam” as they went to the polls to elect their president for the first time.

The statement commended the Tunisian people for successfully holding free and fair elections in a calm manner. The statement argued that the reason behind the wide participation in these elections was that the Tunisian people had faith in the democratic process, adding: “Turkey is confident that the second round of Tunisian elections will be as successful as the first round. We will continue to support the democratic process in Tunisia.”

The presidential elections, which took place on Sunday, did not result in a definitive victory for any of the candidates. Victory will be determined by a majority vote of 51 per cent. Béji Caïd Essebsi won 39.4 per cent of the vote while Moncef Marzouki won 33.4 per cent of the vote. Both candidates have qualified to participate in the second round of elections due to be held next month, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission.