Zein al-Abidin Ben Ali reelected as Tunisia's president for the third time

Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Ben Ali defeated his rivals as the Tunisian Interior Ministry announced that nearly 88% of Tunisia's 3.3 million voters voted with some 218 thousand voters living abroad.

Ben Ali won a presidential period for a new five-year term after the 12 years he has already spent as Tunisia's president.

The ruling Democratic Constitutional Assembly also maintained its majority in the parliament.

Two opposition leaders were also candidates in the Tunisian elections as well as the Tunisian president, creating multiparty elections for the first time since Tunisia's independence.