The two candidates for the second round of the presidential elections in Tunisia, Qais Said and Nabil Karoui, concluded their campaigns with a television debate and described as historic during their election programs to enter the country starting from midnight last night the stage of electoral silence in preparation for the ballot scheduled for Sunday.

In the two-hour debate on state television, Said and Karoui answered questions on foreign policy, security and defense, the president's competence as defined by the Tunisian constitution, electoral promises, and a space of free expression for both candidates that saw interaction between them.

Said stressed during this space on the independence of the judiciary and non-interference by parties, and the need to apply the law to all, while the villager proposed restructuring intelligence to eliminate terrorism.

Also in the security field, Karoui, the candidate of the Heart of Tunisia party who came second in the legislative elections after Ennahda, proposed the formation of a competent court. Said replied that the constitution does not allow the establishment of exceptional courts.

In foreign policy, independent candidate Qais Said stressed the centrality of the Palestinian issue, and considered normalization with Israel as a "high betrayal", while his rival asserted that with the criminalization of normalization with Israel in the Tunisian Constitution.

During the same debate, Said again criticized the existing party system and defended the relaxation of the centralization of power, but stressed that it does not seek to dismantle the current constitution, but to amend it to provide more mechanisms to achieve social justice by restoring the state's social role in education, health and social security.

He also stressed the priority of combating corruption, saying that this phenomenon fuels poverty and social injustice and necrosis the economy, while stressing the role of education in the face of the threat of terrorism.

The two sides also raised the role of economic diplomacy and the constants of Tunisian foreign policy, noting that Tunisia should help resolve the crisis in Libya.

On the other hand, candidate Qais Said reiterated that he is independent, and said that he is running for the presidency with the potential of young volunteers,

"They accuse me once of being my predecessor and sometimes of being my left. What is important is the will of the people, the young people who support me," he said.

At the end of the debate, Karoui praised his opponent as a "clean man" but complained that "fierce" parties, including Ennahda, supported him to win the presidency, while Said avoided making any accusations against his opponent regarding the charges against him, for which he was arrested in late August. Last August for more than a month before the Court of Cassation decided to release him last Wednesday evening.