Summary Essebsi, who served under previous Tunisian regimes, was on Monday declared the winner of vote.
TUNIS (AFP) - Tunisia s new leader Beji Caid Essebsi said the country has turned the page on dictatorship after a presidential vote that European observers hailed on Tuesday as "credible and transparent".
But outgoing president Moncef Marzouki, who lost the election, said he was creating a new movement to prevent the North African nation sliding back into authoritarian rule after the victory by the veteran politician.
Essebsi, an 88-year-old who served under previous Tunisian regimes, was on Monday declared the winner of a vote seen as a landmark for the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
His election rounded off Tunisia s transition to democracy and has won praise from Western leaders including US President Barack Obama.
European Union observers reported on Tuesday that Tunisians had voted "for the first time in a credible and transparent presidential election".
The head of the EU mission, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, said however that "private television channels had clearly favoured the candidate Essebsi".
That was in line with complaints from Marzouki during an often bitter and divisive campaign that has raised concerns that Essebsi s victory marks the return of Tunisia s old guard.
But Essebsi, an anti-Islamist lawyer, insisted Tunisia would not turn back history.
