Tunisian presidencies .. "hard" day to secure the ballot and count

Khamis Ben Brik-Tunisia

In front of the "Nahj India" primary school in Tunis, one of the polling stations that receive voters to vote today in the presidential election, a double team of security forces and army are gathering to guard the perimeter of the center and ensure the integrity of the electoral process from any threats.

One policewoman stands between the squad in security uniforms, holding an electronic device to monitor any prohibitions that voters may enter.While citizens enter under the gaze of security and the army to the polling station to vote, others, waving election ink in the thumb of their left forefinger after completing their vote.

The young policeman Mona, who participated after the revolution in all polling stations, told Al-Jazeera Net that securing the election process is carried out effectively by a double difference between the security and the army, which since Saturday oversaw the transfer of ballot boxes, ballot papers and other materials to the polling stations.

Logistic insurance
According to Tunisian army spokesman Mohamed Zekri to Al Jazeera Net, more than 32,000 military personnel, in cooperation with more than 70,000 security personnel, supervise the movement of ballot boxes, ballot papers and other sensitive materials from the central stores of the electoral commission towards the polling stations.

He stressed that the Ministry of Defense devoted all its efforts and human resources, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and under the supervision of the Electoral Commission, to the success of logistical insurance of sensitive electoral materials in trucks, aircraft and military ships, taking advantage of their experience in this process after the revolution.

The army and security units in various wires provide the perimeter of more than 4,000 polling stations distributed to all 27 electoral districts in the country, while the Electoral Commission, through its staff at the polling stations, monitors the progress of the election process with local and foreign observers.

Mohammed Zakri tells Al Jazeera Net that the army and security forces and the election commission will supervise after the end of the voting process at 6 pm (5 pm GMT) to secure the transfer of closed ballot boxes to the polling stations to calculate the results.

Long lines
Within the approach to India Primary School, the head of the polling station and the principal of the school, Abdullatif Jouini, are moving to monitor the integrity of the electoral process and monitor any irregularities.

The man went through the experience of securing election observation after the popular revolution in 2011, and he joined this process after regaining his confidence in the integrity of the elections that were in the previous era merely a "play", assuring Al Jazeera Net that the logistical insurance and the various stages of the voting process are conducted in an honest and transparent manner.

Abd al-Latif stares with his sharp eyes on everything going on inside the polling station, sometimes alerting some observers who say that some wanted to direct some voters to vote for candidates, or an assistant, while other older voters explained and simplified voting procedures.

Abd al-Latif woke up from dawn today to be present inside the polling station to receive the ballot boxes and other electoral materials by members of the electoral commission attached to the security forces and the army before the boxes are opened to the observers and then closed with four numbered locks that open only after voting.

He tells Al Jazeera Net that when the voting process ends this evening, the ballot boxes will be opened at the polling stations in the presence of the Commission's staff, local and foreign observers and the media to calculate the papers and the results, after which the initial results will be suspended on the wall of the polling stations.

Election officers then return the ballot papers to the boxes and then close them again for shipment in the army transport, to be sent back to the collection centers and central headquarters until the votes are recalculated and the results are counted and declared preliminary within two days at the latest.

Negation of forgery
Jouini confirms to Al Jazeera Net that it is not possible to talk today in Tunisia about the fraud of the election results or the placing of fraudulent papers inside the ballot boxes because of the tightness of securing and monitoring the funds from the various observers of presidential candidates, in addition to observers of civil society organizations.

For his part, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission Nabil Pavon to the island Net that it is impossible today any electoral fraud due to the complexity of securing the process of sending ballot boxes and other sensitive electoral materials from the stores to the polling stations and then returned after the process of voting.

He explained that securing the transfer of electoral materials is under the eyes of the Commission and local and international observers and under the strict guard of the security and the army, stressing that there can never be any fraud thanks to the numbered locks of the funds, which can only be opened by the staff of the Commission in the presence of observers.

Numbered locks
He adds that it is not possible today to talk about the falsification of the election results, because it is before the voting process to ensure that the ballot boxes by the staff of the Commission before the observers, and then closed with four numbered locks, to be reopened at the end of the vote before the observers to calculate the results and then published immediately.

He considered that the impact on the election results is taking new ways by falsifying the will of voters through the media and social media networks and corrupt political money and other non-traditional methods, stressing that the electoral commission will take all deterrent measures against violators.

26 candidates from Islamic, leftist, progressive, independent and populist currents are nominated for the presidential elections. Qais Saeed and others.