Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali, the president of Tunisia, has been elected to a fifth term in office, with the official count giving him 89.6 per cent of the vote in a contest described by Human Rights Watch as having taken place in “an atmosphere of repression”.

Mr Ben Ali, who won against three challengers from weak political parties has been president for 22 years. In 2002, he changed the constitution to eliminate term limits and raise the maximum age for presidents to 75 years.