Freed from jail, Tunisian candiate hits campaign trail ahead of presidential runoff
Record ID:
1436339
Freed from jail, Tunisian candiate hits campaign trail ahead of presidential runoff
- Title: Freed from jail, Tunisian candiate hits campaign trail ahead of presidential runoff
- Date: 11th October 2019
- Summary: BIZERTE, TUNISIA (OCTOBER 11, 2019) (REUTERS) TUNISIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, NABIL KAROUI, STANDING THROUGH ROOF OF CAR AT RALLY VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS VARIOUS OF KAROUI ON STAGE WAVING TO SUPPORTERS SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TUNISIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, NABIL KAROUI, SAYING: "I came out of prison and came straight to Bizerte. You got me out by your votes and took me all the way to the second round, and now we have just a short way to go." KAROUI WAVING TO SUPPORTERS FROM STAGE VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS CHEERING SUPPORTER EMBRACING KAROUI AS HE DEPARTS RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BIZERTE RESIDENT AND NABIL KAROUI SUPPORTER, FATHIYA, SAYING: "I hope God favours and protects Nabil Karoui, I hope he becomes president and that Tunisia and Bizerte will be good. I hope he becomes president, we were very happy when he was released from prison."
- Embargoed: 25th October 2019 20:57
- Keywords: Tunis Tunisia Bizerte Campaign Presidential Elections Kais Saied Nabil Karoui
- Location: BIZERTE AND TUNIS, TUNISIA
- City: BIZERTE AND TUNIS, TUNISIA
- Country: Tunisia
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0NNPL3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Presidential candidate Nabil Karoui campaigned across Tunisia on Friday (October 11) just two days after being released from jail, while supporters of his opponent gathered in the capital Tunis ahead of Sunday's (October 13) election runoff.
Karoui addressed flag-waving supporters in the port city of Bizerte in the morning, before moving on to events in Ariana and Erriadh on his one-day campaign trail.
The media mogul candidate was the runner up in the first round of the presidential election last month despite being held since August 23 in pre-trial detention on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering. Karoui denies any wrongdoing.
He will now face law professor Kais Saied, an independent, in the second round of voting.
Back in the capital, supporters of Saied, who had previously said he would not campaign while Karoui was in prison, gathered on the historic Habib Bourguiba street.
Supporters waved flags and shouted slogans in support of the independent who did not show up to the rally but sent an audio message that was played out from large speakers.
Both men have presented themselves as political outsiders riding a wave of public dissatisfaction with the years of economic stagnation that followed the 2011 revolution.
On Friday night, weeks after Karoui and Saied took the top two places in the first-round vote, Tunisians will see them debate face-to-face for the first time.
(Production: Sayed Sheasha, Muhammed Abughaneya, Seham Eloraby) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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