Tunisian veteran politician leads voting intentions poll

Beji Caid Essebsi, Tunisia's ex- interim prime minister and head of the secular opposition party Nida Tounes (Tunisia Call), is leading the voting intentions for the next presidential election, Shems FM reported on Monday, quoting an independent survey. Essebsi, 85, leads the latest poll commissioned by the "3C Etudes" agency with 10.9 percent of the votes, ahead of the current president, Moncef Marzouki who is in the second place with 7.2 percent of the votes. It is the first time the former interim prime minister comes ahead in polling intentions. The current prime minister, Hamadi Jebali, who belongs to the Ennahdha Islamic ruling party is only credited with 2.3 percent of the votes, showing a sharp drop in popularity. Insofar as legislative elections are concerned, the poll indicates that some 42 percent of Tunisians are still uncertain of whom to vote for. However, Ennahdha comes ahead of polling intentions with 31.4 percent of votes ahead of Nida Tounes which is credited with 29.6 percent of polling intentions. The popular Front, a coalition of center-left parties is third with 6.9 percent, while Al Joumhouri comes fourth with 5.4 percent. On Monday, Marzouki told members of the Tunisian community in London that the country's next general elections should be held at "the utmost" during the coming summer. The president arrived in London Monday where he will receive the Chatham House Prize for 2012. The survey comes as criticism of the current government is mounting following a rise in prices of basic food products and rampant unemployment. Uncertainty as to the date of the next elections and the parliament's slowness and bickering in drafting the new constitution are also fueling concerns among Tunisians, notably in the regions where unrest and acts of lawlessness are reported.