Tunisian President rules out second term\, says will \'open door to youth\'

Tunisian President rules out second term, says will 'open door to youth'

ANI  |  Middle East 

Tunisia's 92-year-old said on Saturday (local time) that he was not keen on standing for re-election in the presidential polls slated to be held later this year, underlining that it was time to "open the door to the youth".

"In all honesty, I don't think I will put myself forward. It is time to open the door to the youth," Essebsi told the party, which he founded in 2012, Voice of reported.

Essebsi's remarks came after there were calls from within his party to run for a second term in the upcoming

Essebsi is Tunisia's first democratically elected President, who won the polls in 2014.

The 92-year-old leader urged his party to end the bitter feud with Tunisia's Youssef Chahed, who split from the government and formed his own party,

Presidential polls are set to be held on November 17. However, none of the main political parties have announced their candidates so far.

was one of the affected by the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the region in 2011. The revolt in the North African nation toppled longtime leader after 23 years in office.

Although has been hailed as a model of democratisation in the Arab after it emerged from the mass protests, the country has, in recent years, suffered terror attacks and faced economic woes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, April 07 2019. 07:12 IST