Tunisia entered the stage of electoral silence, a day before the start of voting in the parliamentary elections at home, amid calls from political forces to boycott the electoral process.
And the head of the Independent Higher Authority for Elections, Farouk Bouaskar, announced yesterday, Thursday, that 9,200,000 voters are invited to the legislative elections tomorrow, Saturday.
He added that the voters are divided into 50.8% of women and 49.2% of men, and he mentioned that young people (between 18 and 45 years) represent 55% of the electoral body.
Regarding polling stations, Bouaskar said that there are 11,485 polling stations inside and outside Tunisia, at the disposal of voters in 4,692 polling stations inside and outside Tunisia.
As for abroad, he explained that the elections are taking place in the constituencies of Italy, France 2 and France 3 in 175 offices with 141 polling stations.
He confirmed that the elections were launched yesterday, Thursday, as usual, in these centers outside the country, while a spokesman for the Elections Authority said that voting in the diaspora recorded a low turnout on its first day.
1058 candidates are competing according to the individual candidacy system for 154 out of 161 seats in the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, after not running in 7 districts outside Tunisia. Partial elections will be held for them at a time to be announced later.
Among the ten constituencies designated for abroad, competition will take place in only 3 constituencies, after the absence of candidacies was recorded in 7 constituencies: France 1, Germany, the rest of European countries, Arab countries, the Americas and Australia, in addition to the Africa constituency.
In the constituencies of Italy, France 2, and France 3, there is a single candidate for each constituency, and he will be considered a winner, regardless of the number of votes, according to the Tunisian electoral law.
At home, 151 constituencies are being contested, while a single candidacy was registered in 7 constituencies.
Top contenders
According to monitoring by Anatolia, the People's Movement (Nasseriyah - 15 deputies in the dissolved parliament) leads the competing party forces in the legislative elections with 86 candidates.
A coalition is running for the people to win in most constituencies, except for those devoid of candidates, which are 7 constituencies outside the country.
The coalition consists of a large number of independent and trade union national figures, such as Mohamed Saad and Mohamed Ali Al-Boughdiri, two former members of the executive office of the Tunisian General Labor Union, and political forces such as the Baath movement and the Free Tunisia Forces.
The Tunisian National Youth Movement is running in all internal constituencies (151 constituencies).
According to Anadolu Agency's sources, the People's Coalition is running (supporting President Kais Saied) in 35 constituencies.
13 boycotted parties
About 13 parties are boycotting the legislative elections, namely: Ennahda (53 deputies in the dissolved parliament), Qalb Tounes (28 deputies), the Dignity Coalition (18 deputies), the Tunisian Movement of Irada, Al-Amal, the Republican, the Workers, the Qutb, and the Democratic Current (22 deputies). The Democratic Bloc for Labor and Freedoms, the Free Destourian (16 deputies), and Afaq Tounes (two deputies).
These political forces represent the most important and balanced party bodies in Tunisia, according to the results of the 2019 elections.
The European Parliament decided not to send a mission to monitor the Tunisian elections.
He said his decision was based on the decision of the African Court of Human Rights and the Venice Commission's report, in addition to the political and social developments in the country.
Boycott calls
Calls to boycott the elections were renewed two days before voters in the country went to polling stations.
The Tunisian "Ennahda" movement renewed its call to boycott the legislative elections, stressing in a statement that the elections were based on the coup and its tools, to enable it to monopolize power and perpetuate individual tyranny, as described in the movement's statement.
And she believed that the parliament that will result in the elections will be closer to supporting what the coup authority decides, and without the authority or ability to perform its real role in legislation and oversight, according to the description of the movement.
The statement added that the International Monetary Fund's retraction from considering Tunisia's request, and postponing it for an indefinite period, came as a result of the sharp political division in the country.
Tunisian President Kais Saied had rejected US criticism of his expansion of his powers in the country, blaming what he described as fake news and unnamed foreign powers for their opposition to his rule, as he put it.
Said said, during a meeting with the editorial board of the "Washington Post" newspaper, that there are many who he described as enemies of democracy in Tunisia, who want to do everything in their power to undermine the country's democratic and social life.
He strongly defended his decision to suspend parliament and issue a new constitution, saying that the new constitution provided Tunisians with great rights and protection, compared to the 2014 constitution.
Election Commission
On the tenth of last May, President Kais Saied announced the new composition of the Independent Higher Authority for Elections, which is headed by Bouaskar, and which includes 6 other members.
This announcement was preceded by the amendment of the Basic Law of the Commission, which has supervised the elections since October 2011, and its members were reduced from 9 to 7 members.
Today's elections, Saturday, are the latest episode in a series of exceptional measures that President Qais Saeed began imposing on July 25, 2021, and was preceded by the dissolution of the Judicial Council and Parliament, the issuance of legislation by presidential decrees, and the adoption of a new constitution through a referendum on July 25, 2022.
Tunisian forces consider these measures a consecration of absolute individual rule, while other forces see it as a correction of the course of the 2011 revolution that overthrew the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011).