Parliamentary elections in Tunisia

(Baonghean.vn) - At 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 26, polling stations in Tunisia were ready for voters to cast their ballots to elect new members of the National Assembly. It is estimated that nearly 5.3 million Tunisian voters participated in today's election.

October 2011 is considered a historic milestone for Tunisia when this country successfully held free elections for the first time. The election on Sunday, October 26 is also considered very important for Tunisia because this election is a test of the sustainability of the Tunisian State after nearly 4 years since the beginning of the "Arab Spring" revolution. It is known that the Tunisian State was established after the uprising in January 2011.

A voter goes to the polls on October 26. Photo: Anis Mili

In 18 hours, nearly 5.3 million voters will go to the polls to elect 217 members of the National Assembly to serve a five-year term. The National Assembly will elect a president on November 23.

According to analysts, the two leading parties are the Islamist Ennahda and its rival Nidaa Tounés. The Islamist Ennahda won parliamentary elections and formed an interim government in October 2011. It has been in power since 2012. Nidaa Tounès is a party that brings together former opponents against the ousted dictator Ben Ali and his cronies.

According to the authorities, about 80,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to ensure the safety of polling stations and voters. The government deployed a large number of security forces due to concerns about attacks by jihadist organizations aimed at disrupting the election.

Since 2011, clashes with jihadist groups have left dozens of police and soldiers dead. On Friday, a 24-hour military siege killed six members of an armed group at a house on the outskirts of Tunis. Five of the six were women. Tunisia is now the last hope for a successful democratic transition in the Arab Spring countries, which have largely been chaotic and often repressed.

Chu Thanh– According to LeMonde October 26