Clashes in south Tunisia after Essebsi claims victory
Tunisian police fired teargas on Monday in a southern city to disperse hundreds of youths who burned tyres and blocked streets to demonstrate against an official from the old guard who declared he had won Sunday's presidential vote, residents said, according to Reuters.
The protests in Hamma erupted after veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi declared victory in Sunday's run-off, seen as the last step in Tunisia's shift to full democracy four years after an uprising ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
Official results will be announced at 9.00 a.m. ET and his rival, the incumbent president, Moncef Marzouki, has refused to concede defeat, saying he would wait for the electoral authorities to make their results public.
"Hundreds of angry youths upset over Essebsi's victory declaration set fire to tyres in the streets of the city while police fired teargas and arrested several youths," Ammar Giloufi, a local resident, said.
"All shops are closed. They are chanting 'No to the old regime'."