Tunisians turned out in force for their country's first truly free elections Sunday, with voting expected to favour a long-banned Islamist party and seen as a bellwether for pro-democracy movements across the Arab world.
With soldiers keeping order, no violence was reported near the end of the voting, though authorities noted minor scattered violations. Thousands of observers monitored Tunisia's first elections since an uprising overthrew the longtime leader and set off anti-government revolts around the Middle East.
Voters — women with headscarves and without, former political prisoners,
cheap jerseysyoung people whose Facebook posts helped fuel the revolution in the North African country — are electing a 217-seat assembly that will appoint a new government and then write a new constitution.
Kamel Jendoubi, head of the electoral commission, said turnout was "over 60 per cent and close to 70 per cent" three hours before the polls closed.
Reuters quoted an election official who said the turnout was more than 90 per cent.
Results expected Monday, Tuesday
Jendoubi told reporters there was no violence, but some "soft"
cheap soccer jerseys intimidation of voters, such as street demonstrations and people continuing to campaign on voting day, which is against the rules.
Results might not come until Monday or Tuesday. The party expected to come out on top is the moderate Islamic movement Ennahda, whose victory, especially in a comparatively secular society like Tunisia, could have wide implications for similar religious parties in the region.
Voters are turning the page on the 23-year presidency of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown by an uprising on Jan. 14 that was stirred by anger at unemployment, corruption and repression.
The unexpected revolution in the quiet Mediterranean country
custom made jerseys— cherished by European tourists for its sandy beaches and desert oases — set off a series of similar uprisings against entrenched leaders, an event now being called the Arab Spring.
If Tunisia's elections produce an effective new government they will serve as an inspiration to pro-democracy advocates across the region, including in neighbouring Libya, where longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed last week by rebel forces.
'A moment of joy and celebration'
"The old elections were fraudulent and this one is for our children and grandchildren so that even if I soon die, I will be happy and content," said Tayyib Awishi, 83, dressed in a crisp white robe and skull cap, in a crowded polling station in the working class Tunis suburb of Hay al-Tadammon.
At a nearby station in the same neighborhood, former political
mlb jerseys cheapprisoner Touhami Sakouhi said he was ready to wait in line all day.
"It's a historic day, a moment of joy and celebration. Even if I have to stand in line 24 hours, I would not give up the chance to savour this air of freedom," he said.
In the more affluent Tunis suburb of al-Aouina, 18-year-old language student and former protester Zeinab Souayah said, "I'm going to grow up and think back on these days and tell my children about them."
The ballot is an extra-large piece of paper bearing the names
cheap nfl jerseys and symbols of the parties fielding a candidate in each district. The symbols are meant to aid the illiterate, estimated at about 25 percent of the population in a country with one of the most educated populations in the region.
3 polling stations set up in Canada
Voters in each of the country's 33 districts, six of which are abroad, have a choice of between roughly 40 and 80 electoral lists.
Some of the 10,000 Tunisians living in Canada showed up at three polling stations in Ottawa and Montreal to cast their ballots.
"I am so happy, you cannot imagine," Ahlem Braham said before voting in Montreal on Saturday. "It's like a dream for us."
The election is a cacophony of choice in a country effectively under one-party rule since independence from France in 1956, and where the now-popular Islamist party Ennahda was long banned.
There are 7.5 million potential voters, though only 4.4 million of them, or just under 60 percent, are actually registered.
In the 10 months since the uprising, Tunisia's economy and unemployment, part of the reason for the revolution in the first place, has only become worse as tourists and foreign investors have stayed away.
http://t-mobil.forumotion.com/t3-tunisia-s-landmark-election-draws-high-turnoutMany have expressed indifference about the elections out of frustration that new jobs have yet to appear and life has not improved since the revolution.
