Voting under way in landmark Tunisia polls - Politics - Wabsodlink

Tunisians have been lining up to vote to choose new parliament in the elections seen as a test of the country’s transition to democracy. Voting opened at 7am (06:00 GMT) on Sunday to elect a five-year legislative assembly and will close at 6pm. More than 4,500 polling booths have been set up, with security forces deploying heavily to avert possible attacks. Results are expected to follow shortly after. Sunday’s general election, which will see the election of the 217-member legislature, is the first under the country’s new constitution and the second since the 2011 uprising that overthrew the regime of the former president, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. “I am so proud of being here,” Sami Rajhi, a 19-year-old student, told Al Jazeera as he queued to cast his first ever vote at a polling station in the capital’s northern neighbourhood of Menzah. “During the last elections, I was in tears when I saw all the pictures of my fellow citizens voting. Today, I am here to contribute to my country’s future. It’s a historic moment.” More than 100 political parties are running. Former Ben Ali officials are allowed to run and are expected to win in regional cities where they remain popular. More than 5.2 million people are eligible to vote, but there are concerns that turnout will be low despite widespread awareness campaigns educating citizens on the importance of voting. Samira Gharbi, a 36-year-old mother of two, said she came to vote despite her disappointment with her own choices in the previous vote. Standing in line with her two children, Gharbi said she “came today to rectify. It is important to be here, to decide on the country’s future for the next 5 years.”