Tunisians gear up for historic vote

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Tunisians gear up for historic vote

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Tunisia's first democratic election will be held today after the ouster of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

23 October,2011 04:46 am

Tunisian voters weighed their choices Saturday on the eve of the Arab Springs historic first election nine months after the toppling of strongman Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.With many voters undecided to the end, elections chief Kamel Jendoubi declared his ISIE polling commission ready and confident.The Islamist Ennahda party is tipped to win the biggest bloc of ballots in Sundays polls in which 7.2 million eligible voters are called to elect a 217-member assembly that will rewrite the constitution.It will also have the loaded task of appointing an interim president and a caretaker government that will remain in place for the duration of the drafting process, expected to take a year.There are too many parties, said Hishem Jmel, 47, an unemployed, undecided voter. But he stressed that casting his ballot was nevertheless a duty, for a better future.Voters can choose from some 11,000 candidates representing 80 political parties and thousands of independents.Mohamed Ben Salah, is one of the thousands of Tunisians who took to the streets in December and January in leaderless protests against corruption, poverty and unemployment that forced Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia.I am 30 years old, but I have no work, no wife, no car, no house. I will be voting for freedom and for jobs, he said.The European Union observer mission said the campaigning, which ended on Friday had been calm and disciplined.ISIE official Mohamed Fadhel Mahfoudhn said all polling stations would have their ballot papers by the end of Saturday.