Tunisia's Islamist Al-Nahda party said Monday it expected to capture about 40 per cent of the vote, a senior party member said, with ballot counting under way in the country's first-ever democratic elections.

"We are not far from 40 per cent. It could be a bit more or a bit less, but we are sure to take 24 (of the 27) voting districts," Samir Dilou, a member of the party's political bureau told AFP, quoting "our sources."