Late Tunisian President's Widow Passes Away

Late Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi ‘s widow Chadlia Saida Farhat passed away on Sunday, according to her son, who announced the news via a post on “Facebook”.

Farhat is Tunisia's fifth first lady, as well as the second following the Tunisian Revolution. Farhat was born on August 1, 1936.

Farhat became 1st lady of Tunisia on December 31, 2014, upon the inauguration of her husband as president. She has assumed a higher profile, both in public and behind-the-scenes, than her immediate predecessor, former first lady Béatrice Marzouki.

Noteworthy, Essebsi, Tunisia’s president and a major figure in the country’s transition to democracy after the Arab spring died two months ago.

Tunisia’s presidential election kicked off earlier Sunday; more than 7 million Tunisian voters will go to the polling stations to select a new president from among 26 candidates.

1,200 employees were assigned by Tunisia’s Independent Higher Authority for Elections (ISIE) to monitor the electoral campaigns.

The first round of the presidential election was scheduled on November 17, but due to the death of Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on July 25, the ISIE decided to postpone it.

Successive governments in Tunisia have failed to improve an unemployment rate that hovers above 15 percent, and reaches more than 30 percent in some remote regions.

Among the other challenges that will face the new president is the terrorist attacks from time to time. Attacks on popular tourist sites in 2015 led to a sharp decline in the number of visitor arrivals, devastating a vital sector for the economy.