Tunisians vote in the second parliamentary elections after the revolution

Tunisian ballot boxes opened today for voters to cast their ballots in the second parliamentary elections after the revolution in 2011 and after the adoption of a new constitution in 2014.These elections are contesting about 15,000 candidates from parties, coalitions and independents for 217 seats in parliament.

The voting is scheduled to continue until 5 pm GMT, and the Tunisians living abroad began to vote on Friday and continue until today.

Anis Jarboui, a member of the Higher Independent Commission for Tunisian Elections, announced that the rate of voting in legislative elections abroad reached 7% on Saturday.

As for the ballot inside Tunisia, Jarboui said in a radio statement on Saturday evening that all procedures have been arranged in cooperation with the National Army and the Ministry of Interior to secure the polling stations, and the transfer of electoral materials to all polling stations in various states.

The number of voters eligible to vote in these elections amounts to seven million and 65 thousand and 307 voters, while the total number of polling stations is 13 thousand and 830 offices inside and outside Tunisia.

Election monitoring
In parallel, civil society organizations play a key role in monitoring the conduct of elections. They have mobilized thousands of their staff and volunteers to monitor abuses committed by parties, independents and parties.

Tunisia's parliamentary elections are unlikely to produce a clear winner, a result of resentment and dissatisfaction with parties embedded in national politics, complicating the formation of a coalition at a pivotal moment for the country's economy.

Reflecting an atmosphere of uncertainty, two major parties (Ennahda and the Heart of Tunisia) have confirmed that they will not join any government that includes the other, an ill-advised stance for the negotiations to take the necessary steps to form a government.

Presidential election
About three weeks ago, voters in the presidential election turned on all the main players in the corridors of government, and rejected the prominent politicians; resulting in the first round of the presidential election to the arrival of two new faces in the runoff. These elections registered a turnout of about 50%.

On October 13, in the second round of the presidential election, Qais Said, an independent academic, will compete with media magnate Nabil Karoui, who has been held since August for money laundering and tax fraud, which denies the charges.

This outcome set the stage for today's difficult elections, and a vote could be seen as more important than the presidential election itself, because it is the parliament that will form the next government.

Under the 2014 Tunisian constitution, the prime minister of the largest party in parliament dominates most domestic politics, while the president bears direct responsibility for foreign affairs and defense.

Government coalition
If the largest party fails to win a large number of seats, with many independents, it may be difficult to form a coalition of up to 109 deputies needed to secure majority support for a new government.

He has two months from the date of the election; either he succeeds in doing so or the president assigns another figure to form a government. If it fails, the elections will be held again.