International rights groups say the government has ensured a landslide victory by harassing the opposition, an allegation Ben Ali said was part of a campaign of lies.
Tunisians were voting on Sunday in an election almost certain to hand a new term to President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the 73-year-old who has run the North African country for more than two decades.
International rights groups say the government has ensured a landslide victory by harassing the opposition, an allegation Ben Ali said was part of a campaign of lies by opponents who were betraying their own country.
Western governments view mainly Muslim Tunisia as one of their closest allies in the Arab world and a moderate bulwark against Islamist extremism. At home, many voters credit Ben Ali with making Tunisia -- which attracts millions of European tourists each summer -- one of the most prosperous and stable states in a region that suffers from poverty and political turmoil.
At a polling station on Rue de Marseilles in the centre of Tunis, 50-year-old Nejia Azouzi said she had voted for Ben Ali. "He is the saviour of the country," she said. The president, who came to power in 1987 when doctors declared his predecessor unfit to rule, won the last election five years ago with 94.4 percent of the vote. Tunisians are also electing members of parliament in Sunday's poll.
Election doubts
In a television address on Saturday evening, Ben Ali said the election campaign "has been conducted within the framework of the law and democratic principles." "The law will be applied ... with rigour against anyone who spreads doubts or accusations about the integrity of the electoral process without providing hard proof," he said. He issued the warning after international human rights groups alleged the vote was taking place in an atmosphere of repression.
"Elections will be free and fair in Tunisia only when the authorities stop muzzling opposition candidates, journalists and dissidents," Sarah Leah Whitson, of New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
Tunisia's most prominent opposition figure, Nejib Chebbi, is boycotting the election. Two of the challengers on the ballot rarely criticise the government and the third, Ahmed Brahim, head of the Renewal Movement, said his campaign was hampered by official obstruction and local media that favour Ben Ali.
Dotted through the capital are stands with space for posters of the four candidates. Most have only three posters, with the space for Brahim empty. "I am sure that I am not going to win," Brahim said on Friday at his only campaign rally in the capital. The Interior Ministry is expected to announce the election result on Monday.
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