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By Josh Levs, CNN

December 22, 2014 -- Updated 1600 GMT (0000 HKT)

Beji Caid Essebsi, right, is Tunisia's new president-elect. In this 2011 photo, he shakes hands with diplomat William Swing.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- It's widely considered the only place in which seeds planted during the "Arab Spring" may have grown into the first sprouts of democracy. And now, Tunisia officially has a new president-elect.

Long-time politician Beji Caid Essebsi won the country's runoff with about 55% of the vote, beating outgoing President Moncef Marzouki's 44%, state-run media reported Monday.

It was a hard-fought race. On Sunday, despite earlier indications Essebsi had won, supporters of Marzouki rallied in downtown Tunis.

Security forces responded to rock-throwing rioters by firing tear gas to quickly disperse the crowds, state-run media reported.

Outgoing Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki

As a candidate, Essebsi promised to restore the state's prestige after the chaotic years since the 2011 revolution, when the country's dictator, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was ousted. But Marzouki warned that Essebsi would bring back authoritarian policies.

Link:
Democracy stirs in Tunisia