Tunisia holds Presidential poll after Arab Spring.

The polls have closed after
Tunisia's first presidential election
since the 2011 "Arab Spring" that
triggered uprisings across the
region. About 54% of the electorate took part, with no reports of any violence.

Interim president Moncef Marzouki and anti-Islamist leader Beji Caid Essebsi were touted as the favourites in a field of more than 25 candidates. Both campaigns claimed to have won
the most votes but admitted that a
second round of voting next month was likely.

The official results are due out later this week and if no candidate wins more than 50%, a run-off will be held on 31 December. The poll forms part of a political transition after the revolution that ousted Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. A parliamentary vote was held in October.

Tunisia - seen as the birthplace of the Arab Spring - is considered to have had the most successful outcome, with relatively low levels of violence. Sunday's election will deliver the
country's first directly elected leader since the removal of Mr Ben Ali. Most polling stations were open for 10 hours from 08:00 (07:00 GMT).
"We were the first to enter this cycle of change which they have called the Arab Spring," Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa was quoted as saying on the eve of the poll.
"We will be the first [to make the
transition] but others will follow," he added.

Beji Caid Essebsi, an 87-year-old
who has served in several
previous governments, was the
frontrunner Security was stepped up ahead of the election and armed guards were deployed to polling stations Mr Essebsi, who is from the Nidaa Tounes (Tunisia's Call) party, came out on top in the poll, according to one of his officials.

"Essebsi is ahead according to initial results, with a big difference to the next candidate," campaign manager Mohsen Marzouk told reporters, but
he admitted there was "a strong
possibility of a second round".

Mr Essebsi was the frontrunner after his party came first in the
parliamentary election.
But critics say the 87-year-old, who served in the governments of post-independence leader Habib Bourguiba as well as Mr Ben Ali, represents the past.
"Tunisians will have their say and I
will accept their choice to consolidate Tunisia's transition," Mr Essebsi told reporters after voting in Tunis.

Interim President Moncef
Marzouki presented himself as the
candidate who has the desire for
change. Correspondents say his main opposition came from Mr Marzouki, the interim president and a human rights campaigner who has cast himself as a guardian of the spirit of the revolution.

Mr Marzouki's camp insisted the
contest was neck and neck, with their candidate possibly ahead by a small margin.
"At the worst we are even but at best we're between 2 and 4% ahead," Mr Marzouki's campaign manager Adnene Mancer told reporters.
"Our chances are good as we go into a runoff."

Among the other candidates were
Parliamentary Speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar, Republican Party leader Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, female magistrate Kalthoum Kannou and businessman Slim Riahi.
The Islamist party Ennahda, which
led Tunisia's last government but
was beaten by Nidaa Tounes in
October's parliamentary election, did not field a candidate.
A statement from Ennahda leader
Rachid Ghannouchi spoke of wanting "to avoid deepening polarisation or dividing the country". Ennahda's rise
had led to concerns among more
secular-minded Tunisians that
Islamists would dominate politics.
Tunisia is still facing the spectre of
civil unrest and terrorism, with
Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou
warning of "serious security threats" near the Algerian border where al-Qaeda militants are said to be hiding.

Source: BBC Africa.
Pix credit : BBC Africa

Pix 1: interim president, Moncef Marzouki, a strong contender of the presidency.

Pix 2:  Security beef-up at polling centres.

Pix 3: Another presidential contender, Beji Caid.