Tunisian polling stations open for presidential election

AFP , Sunday 6 Oct 2024

Voting began in Tunisia's presidential election on Sunday with President Kais Saied widely tipped to win.

Tunisia
A Tunisian receives a ballot ahead of casting his vote in the presidential election at a polling station in Tunis on October 6, 2024. AFP

 

Tunisians began casting their ballots at 8:00 am (0700 GMT) with the country's over 5,000 polling stations set to close at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT), according to the ISIE electoral authority.

ISIE has said preliminary results should come no later than Wednesday but may be known earlier.

At one polling station in central Tunis, AFP reporters saw a group of mostly older men lining up to vote.

Ahead of polling day, there were no campaign rallies or public debates, and nearly all of the campaign posters in city streets have been of Saied.

ISIE said about 9.7 million people are expected to turn out.

Voters are being presented with almost no alternative after ISIE barred 14 hopefuls from standing in the race, citing insufficient endorsements among other technicalities.

Standing against Saied, 66, Sunday are former lawmaker Zouhair Maghzaoui and Ayachi Zammel, a little-known businessman who has been in jail since his bid was approved by ISIE last month.

Zammel currently faces more than 14 years in prison on accusations of having forged endorsement signatures to enable him to stand in the election.

A number of Saied's critics across the political spectrum were jailed, sparking criticism both at home and abroad.

In a speech on Thursday, Saied called for a "massive turnout to vote" and usher in what he called an era of "reconstruction".

He cited "a long war against conspiratorial forces linked to foreign circles", accusing them of "infiltrating many public services and disrupting hundreds of projects" under his tenure.

 

This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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