Tunis (AFP)

Constitutional law expert Kais Saied is given victory in the Tunisian presidential election with more than 30 points ahead of businessman Nabil Karoui, according to an initial poll released Sunday, triggering scenes of joy of his supporters in Tunis.

According to the polling institute Emrhod, 61-year-old Mr. Kaies won 72.5 percent of the vote, compared with only 27.5 percent to his opponent, Mr. Karoui, a controversial businessman.

The publication of this poll, massively reported and commented in Tunisia, came about an hour after the closing of the polls at 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT).

No official result is expected before Monday, and no official on both sides wanted to speak.

Mr. Saied's team was planning festivities in a hotel in central Tunis, and dozens of his supporters gathered in fervor at the foot of his country office.

"The people want Kais Saied", "Long live Tunisia", shouted the crowd, singing the national anthem and slogans in favor of the candidate, while horns and fireworks resonated.

Mr. Saied, a jurist known for his societal conservatism but with still vague intentions, arrived at the head of the first round on September 15, with 18.4%, after a low cost campaign consisting of multiple field visits and pages animated by supporters on Facebook.

His opponent, founder of the private channel Nessma TV, had obtained 15.6% from his prison cell. Arrested in late August on charges of tax evasion, he was released on Wednesday night only, a few days before the second round, and continued.

Some seven million Tunisians were called to the polls to elect their new president in a democratic way, for the second time only since the 2011 revolution.

According to the electoral body, participation should be up from the first round, when less than one in two voters voted (49%).

© 2019 AFP