Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Tunisian Ennahda party (Photo:Reuters)
Tunisians voters are to head to poll stations on Sunday to vote in parliamentary elections.
Voters abroad began voting on Friday in six constituencies, each of which will be represented by 18 MPs. The total number of MPs to be returned to the assembly is 217.
In downtown Tunis, political parties concluded their electoral campaigns late on Friday, with Islamists Ennahda, led by Rachid Ghannouchi, holding a mass conference.
The last days of the campaign were marked by public concern about the violent arrest of two "terrorist elements" by security forces on Thursday in Wadi Al-Leil, near the capital.
A house was stormed by police during the raid, who killed one suspected terrorist and arrested another. Five women in the building were killed and two children injured during the raid.
The apparent terrorist threat dominated headlines on the eve of the elections. Local daily Shorouk stated: "Terrorists refuse to surrender" while the Maghreb declared that "Terrorism will not ruin the elections."
Political Islam Sami Brahem told Ahram Online that what happened in Wadi El-Leil was part of an operation by security forces to secure the electoral process, and predicted high turnout among voters.
"The proactive operations carry a message of reassurance that security forces have prepared well for the elections," he argued.
Brahem added that Salafist groups, who made some threats before the elections, are part of a "globalised jihad" that can be easily penetrated by remnants of the Ben Ali regime or by foreign intelligence.
Ennahda’s official newspaper Fajr was more interested in Washington's apparent acceptance of that party’s return to power.
The newspaper quoted Radwan Masmoudi, founder of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Democracy in the United States, as saying: "Washington has understood that you can’t build a democratic system without the Islamists, as they represent a huge group in their societies."
"There is a disagreement between two views in the US; the first one, which is the majority, supports the Islamists and accepts democracy. The second rejects democracy in fear that anti-American forces will take power," Masmoudi said.
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