TUNIS
Tunisian presidential hopeful Moncef Marzouki on Friday lodged an appeal against the results of the first round of this week's presidential poll with the country's electoral commission, according to a source with Marzouki's campaign.
The move has led to the postponement of the second-round vote to December 21 or 28, instead of December 14 as initially planned.
"The appeal is based on an assault on Marzouki on election day and attempts to prevent him from casting his ballot, breaches of regulations on electoral silence, and the lack of neutrality, along with fraud and forgery," Marzouki's deputy campaign manager, Anwar al-Gharbi, told The Anadolu Agency.
Friday is the final day of a three-day window for challenging first-round results, according to Tunisian electoral laws.
The country's administrative court will begin examining appeals on Saturday.
The second-round vote will be held on either December 21 or 28, depending on the court verdict, according to Supreme Presidential Election Commission member Nabil Bafoon.
The second round will see two candidates vie for highest office: Beji Caid Essebsi, leader of the centrist Nidaa Tounes party, who clinched some 1.9 million votes (39.4 percent) in the first round; and interim president Moncef Marzouki, who came in second with about 1.1 million votes (33.4 percent).
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