Tunisia's electoral commission has officially announced the victory of Islamist-backed law professor Kais Saied in the country's presidential election.
In a news conference Thursday, commission head Nabil Baffoun said the results were definitive since no appeal had been made to contest them.
Saied received 72.71% of the vote, while media mogul Nabil Karoui got 27.29%.
Journalists and observers attend as the Independent High Electoral Commission announces the results of the presidential election in Tunisia, Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. Tunisia’s electoral body said official preliminary results show that conservative, Islamist-backed law professor Kais Saied has largely won the presidential election. (AP PhotoMosa'ab Elshamy)
The 61-year-old Saied succeeds the late Beji Caid Essebsi, who died in office in July.
Saied ran as an independent candidate, but received support from the moderate Islamist party Ennahdha, which won Tunisia's parliamentary election earlier this month.
Parliament is expected to soon set a date for an extraordinary session during which the new president will be sworn in and formally start his five-year mandate.