Tunisia: Conservative law professor wins presidential race

TUNIS, Tunisia – Tunisia’s election commission says a preliminary count shows Islamist-backed law professor Kais Saied has won the country’s presidential election by a significant margin.

The commission reported Monday that Saied, who hasn’t held elected office before, received 72.71% of the vote. His opponent, media mogul Nabil Karoui, got 27.29%.

The results confirm exit polls from Sunday’s election.

The 61-year-old Saied is an independent outsider but has support from moderate Islamist party Ennahdha, which won Tunisia’s parliamentary election last week.

He has promised to overhaul the country’s governing structure to give more power to young people and local governments.

Karoui told supporters Sunday the race wasn’t over because his legal team would explore options.

He was arrested Aug. 23 in a corruption investigation and released with only two days left to campaign.