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Rabat – The 92-year-old Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi died on Thursday, July 25, the Presidency of the Republic has announced.
Tunisian press agency Agence Tunis Afrique Press shared a brief notice from the press release to confirm the death of Tunisia’s first freely elected president.
The late president suffered a health crisis last month. He was taken to the military hospital on June 27.
Despite leaving the hospital, Essebsi’s health condition remained critical.
Essebsi served as president of Tunisia since December 2014 after an Arab uprising across the region.
In April 2019, the late president announced that he had no intention of running for presidential election again.
Born in 1926, Essebsi completed his studies before entering the political field. He was a supporter of Tunisia’s independence leader Habib Bourguiba. The country gained its independence from France in 1956.
Essebsi served in several positions, including as speaker of parliament, while Ben Ali was still in power.
Essebsi’s expert fields were security, defense, and foreign affairs.
Essebsi, a prominent political figure, led his country towards democracy after serving as Prime Minister following the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.
Three years later, Essebsi was elected president of Tunisia.
According to Al Jazeera, a presidential vote will take place on November 17 after parliamentary elections expected to take place on October 6.
The leader of the Ennahda political party, Rached Ghannouchi, will run in the next parliamentary elections.
“The decision to present Ghannouchi at the top of the party’s electoral list in Tunis 1 [district], is to have leaders of parties play a more important role at this crucial stage in the history of the democratic transition in Tunisia,” said Imed Khmiri, an Ennahda party official.
The parliamentary race is expected to be fought closely by the Ennahda party, the secular Tahya Tounes party of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, the Nidaa Tounes party led by the president’s son Hafedh Caid Essebsi, and the Courant Democrate party.
