TUNIS, July 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, the
North African country’s first democratically elected leader, died Thursday at the age of 92, the presidency said.
The veteran politician, the oldest head of state after Britain’s Queen
Elizabeth II, came to power in 2014, three years after the Arab Spring
uprising toppled longtime despot Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked revolts in several Arab nations.
He had been hospitalised with a severe illness in late June and was
returned to intensive care on Thursday.
He died at 10:25 a.m. local time, at Tunis Military Hospital in the capital. Funeral procession details will be announced soon, state news agency TAP said.
As prime minister, he helped draft a new democratic constitution guaranteeing fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, and preparing Tunisia for free elections.
He also cobrokered an historic power-sharing deal between his Nidaa Tounes movement and Islamist party Ennahda that helped to steady the country, as other parts of the region such as Syria, Yemen or Libya struggled with upheaval and violence.
In recognition of their role, Tunisian civil society groups won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.
Essebsi recently announced he would not run in an election scheduled for November, saying a younger person should lead the country.
Concerns had been growing about a potential power vacuum in Tunisia ahead of the November elections after the president was hospitalised three times in recent weeks.
Tunisia’s constitution, adopted in 2014, provides two measures in such a case.
The prime minister can take over the president’s responsibilities for a period of no more than 60 days. If the vacancy is longer, the speaker of parliament is tasked with the role for up to 90 days.
In both cases, the decision must be taken by a constitutional court after it validates the president’s incapacity. But eight years after the Arab Spring, Tunisia has yet to set up a constitutional court.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on Oct 6, followed by a presidential election on Nov 17. They will be the third set of polls in which Tunisians have been able to vote freely following the 2011 revolution.
Tunisia has been spared much of the violence seen elsewhere in the Middle East since 2011, although it has been the target of fighters from the Daesh group over the years. — NNN-AGENCIES
