Beji Caid Essebsi
Beji Caid EssebsiReuters

Tunisia's Beji Caid Essebsi on Sunday claimed victory in the country's first free presidential election, with exit polls suggesting he won 55.5% of the vote, according to the BBC.

Supporters of the 88-year-old celebrated in the capital Tunis.

Campaigners for his rival, caretaker President Moncef Marzouki, say the results are too close to call.

Critics say his success marks the return of a discredited establishment, as Essebsi served as President of Chamber of Deputies under former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, but Essebsi says he is a technocrat who will bring stability.

Tunisia was the first country to depose its leader in the Arab Spring and inspired other uprisings in the region.

Official results are still to be announced from the run-off election but one exit poll gave Essebsi 55.5%, with several others showing similar figures.

Tunisia boosted security for the elections and closed border posts with Libya, which has been plagued by unrest.

Essebsi appeared on local television after polls closed on Sunday, saying, "I dedicate my victory to the martyrs of Tunisia."

"I thank Marzouki, and now we should work together without excluding anyone," he added, according to the BBC.

A spokesman for Marzouki said the victory claim was "without foundation".

The first round of voting was held in late November, but neither candidate received enough votes to be declared a winner, leading to Sunday’s second round run-off.

In a general election in October, Essebsi’s secularist Nidaa Tounes party won the most seats in the parliament, beating the Islamist party Ennahda that had won the first free poll in 2011.

Ennahda, which gave up power after being accused by the opposition of seeking to entrench itself in power, disregarding the interests of a large secular urban population and being lenient toward radical Islamists, had chosen not to nominate a candidate to run in the presidential election.