Tunisian president wins 5th term in landslide

TUNIS, Tunisia – President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia was re-elected for a fifth term with 89 percent of the vote — his weakest performance yet, but more than enough to show his solid grip on the nation.

The results announced by the Interior Ministry on Monday from Sunday's voting reflect timid gestures toward Ben Ali's rivals in this year's race to lead this Mediterranean vacation haven.

The Obama administration expressed concern about how recent elections have been held in Tunisia.

"The government of Tunisia did not allow international election monitoring. ... We are not aware that permission was granted to any credible independent observers," said U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. But he also said the U.S. is committed to working with the president of Tunisia and his government.

Ben Ali was last re-elected in 2004 with more than 94 percent of votes — a drop from his previous victories of between 99.2 and 99.7 percent. He took power in a bloodless coup in 1987.

In Sunday's vote, runner-up Mohamed Bouchiha won 5.01 percent and Ahmed Inoubli 3.8 percent, but both were viewed as largely cosmetic opposition.

The third candidate, Ahmed Brahim of the Ettajdid, or "change" movement, scored 1.57 percent of the vote.

"At least, we've established the existence of a credible opposition movement in Tunisia," Brahim said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press.

Hard-line opposition groups and Islamists are outlawed and did not take part in the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Many voters see continuity as a good thing in Tunisia, a strong U.S. and European ally and a relatively secular, moderate and stable outpost in the Arab world.

The results, which included results from Tunisians voting abroad, were announced by Interior Minister Rafik Haj Kacem at a news conference Monday.

Kacem said no formal complaints of fraud or irregularities had been filed. The president went on national television the night before the vote attacking any critics who suggested that the election was unbalanced or fraudulent.

Twenty-six Tunisian electoral observers, 16 African Union observers and 11 people invited by Tunisian embassies in Europe and the Arab world monitored several thousand polling stations.

Those monitors said the voting had gone well, and praised Tunisia for strides toward democracy — despite widespread criticism from human rights groups and the nascent opposition that the Tunisian leadership has not followed through on pledges to liberalize.

Turnout was 89.45 percent of Tunisia's 5.3 million voters, authorities said.

Tunisians also chose 214 lawmakers for the lower house of parliament. Ben Ali's Constitutional and Democratic Rally, or RCD, which has been in power since Tunisia's independence from France in 1956, won 161 seats. A sprinkling of small opposition and independent parties shared the remaining 53 seats.

At 73, Ben Ali was running for his last mandate under the current constitution, which sets the age limit for a presidential candidate at 75.

Even his opponents acknowledge the results he has achieved in this small country that lacks any significant natural resources.

Tunisia is expecting 3 percent growth in gross domestic product this year despite the global recession. The country's poverty rate has dropped below 4 percent and it is a regional model in terms of literacy, social welfare and the role women play in society.

Rights groups however deplore the country's overbearing police presence and general absence of any real freedom of expression.

France offered "to deepen the relation of friendship" with Tunisia after the election.

"Tunisia can count on France's support for the process of social, economic and political reform it has begun," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in on online briefing Monday.

___

Associated Press writer Bouazza Ben Bouazza contributed to this report.