The huge turnout in Tunisian election to choose the Constituent Assembly exceeded 80 % The huge turnout in Tunisian election to choose the Constituent Assembly exceeded 80 % in some constituencies, despite the fears that preceded the election, especially after the rumors spread over the past weeks about the possibility of deterioration of the security situation.
Tunisians underline their state of freedom which they took by their bare hands through the \'Jasmine revolution\' which ended by the toppling of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali; while the Independent Electoral Commission organizing the vote refused to extend it, to be closed at 6 O\'clock UTC, and the result is set to be announced next Tuesday.
A huge overcrowding was noticed by \'Arabs Today\' in a lot of election centers, especially in Hammamet . Salma Al Hamy a teacher who came to the polling station to practice her right said \"look to my finger, as it colored by inc, it\'s the first time in my life I can have my right to vote, which I was deprived of during the era of the ousted Ben Ali.
She added: \"everybody wants to vote, but there are some problem prevented them, because the electoral law is very strict; we are in a country respects law, and we should do the same.\"
Young voter Salim Sassi said to \'Arabs Today\', after he made his election duty in one of the polling stations in Naples province (100 km
east of Tunis),\"finally we are able to have an opinion and choose whom we see is better lead the foundation stage of Tunisia after the revolution, he added with his inked finger \"it is the first time I feel proud of being Tunisian\".
The electoral process experienced several technical breaches; in particular, the deprivation of more than 4000 voter from voting, although they voluntarily register their names, while the Independent Commission is going to look for a legal solution to this problem.
This problem was monitored by The Arab team that follows the activities of election, as they said: \"The problem of voters who did not register voluntarily caused disruption for the electoral process in many polling stations.\"
Regarding the announcement of the results, president of Tunisia\'s high electoral commission Kalam Jandoubi said: \"The official results will be announced on Tuesday instead of Monday, the time which had been announced by the commission recently.\"
As for the violations that have been witnessed in the electoral process, Saad Al Aabdly, member of Iraqi electoral commission, who participate in monitoring the Tunisian election within an international mission, said \"we have not spotted any serious violations that could affect the overall results of election\". He added in a statement to \'Arabs Today\': \"we congratulate Tunisian people, who proved his worth of the Jasmine revolution through his turnout in election, which was not expected\".
In the same context, The Arabic team to follow-up election that works with coordination of Al Kwakiby center for democratic transfer, said \"Some official at polling centers had worked on the separation between men and women in separate queues, which provoked the voters the voters, but the officials at the polling centers said they were trying to overcome the overcrowding to ease the voting process\".
The monitoring team reported incidents of mass transfer by the supporters of one of the parties, and will cite its identity in the final report in the provinces of Kairouan and Jendouba.
Another problem emerged about the illiterate voters in a lot of polling centers, although most of the heads of the polling stations committed to the law that prevents the entry of associates with the illiterate, but some heads of the committees allowed the entry of associates.
With the official closing the polling stations, the process of primary
and secondary screening of the results begin, after that it will be sent to the Commission in its central headquarters in the capital.
The unexpected overcrowding forced many citizens to miss the voting process, because of rejecting number of voters as they do not their registration paper, or because their names were not on the electoral roll.
Jandoubi also confirmed recording some of the violations related to some of the candidates in the day of election, despite extending the time of electoral silence, as some of the candidates provoked the voters to urge them to elect a specific party or a list. Jandoubi asserting that the commission is going to gather all the data related to the election, and showed that the electoral law prohibits these violations, and will punish all violators.
Another Observatory, \'Shahed\' for monitoring the electoral process has monitored a number of irregularities and violations all over the country, including \" big difficulties for illiterate and not allowing them to practice their electoral right, in addition to recording some citizen paid amounts of money reached 30 Dinars to vote for a specific list, and this was in Dakkash area in Touzar province.\"
From the unfortunate events that have been recorded was the death of an old man while he was waiting to vote, but the death was natural as security and media sources confirmed to \'Arabs Today\'.
The sources assured that there are no security violations or regulation difficulties have been recorded, in spite of the huge turnout from the citizens, who told \'Arabs Today\' that their attendance is because \"their belief that the revolution took place in order to establish the principles of democracy, and to practice our right to chose who will represent us in the Constituent Assembly\".
Political analysis Chadli Ben Rahouma expressed to \'Arabs Today\' \"his belief that the democratic experience in Tunisia, which locked in its first test since the revolution, will succeed because it is the closest to enter the political modernity, especially because we had decent electoral experience, like the Bar Association elections, or the General Union of Tunisian Workers, or scientific council, that were not infiltrated by former regime.\"
The security presence was intensive to secure the electoral process, as 5 soldiers and 2 police officers was allocated for every one of the 7213 polling centers over the 27 electoral districts.
In a statement to “Arabs Today” Mohammed Kilani, Secretary General of the Tunisian Socialist Left Party and the candidate for Democratic Modernist Pole (DMP) said: “We made more than 10 complaints to the Independent High Authority for the Elections against the movement, that seeks to guide voters.”
And he confirmed “There are several electoral violations which were committed by the Renaissance or ‘Nahda’ Party in numerous constituencies.” However, he expressed his gladness over the huge turnout at polling stations in Tunisia especially among women and young people whose internet posts helped fuel the revolution.”
The electoral law in Tunisia punishes with imprisonment for five years or pay a fine of 3,000 dinars to anyone tries to undermine ballot integrity by using force, threats or bribery whether it was against the voters or against any of their family members.
The Prime Minister in the transitional government in Tunisia, Beji Kad Essebsi said, “The Tunisian people wrote today a new page in their history which separates two eras… a new page which Tunisians can be proud of among the free and the developed nations… a country which aspires to democratic governance.”
In a media statement, after exercising his right to vote, Mr. Caid Essebsi described the election day as a “historic day” that allowed the people of Tunisia to exercise its sovereignty and to elect its representatives in the Constituent Assembly, noting that it is an achievement made by Tunisians through their remarkable activism and sacrifice.
“I pray to God that this process will be irreversible. I congratulate the people for this accomplishment,” Mr. Caid Essebsi continued.
In the same context, The Coordinator for the National Transitional Council in Libya, Guma El-Gamaty said: “I think that it is not a coincidence that the elections in \"the cradle of Arab spring\" coincide
with the announcement of the full liberation of Libya after 9 months of the Tunisian revolution and 8 months of the outbreak of the Libyan Revolution.” He stressed that Tunisia, which was the forerunner of the democratic transition will succeed in the first elections. And will be followed by Libya on the road to democracy. “This is a great day for the two peoples of Tunisia and Libya” he added in a statement to the Tunisian Radio.
The number of registered voters was 4,439,527 voters: 4,100, 812 voters in Tunisia. And 338, 715 overseas, they cast their ballots in different parts of the world in 20, 21 and 22 of October. It is expected to announce their results in parallel with the announcement of the interior results.
About 11,618 Candidates run for these elections. They belong to 655 independent lists, 828 party lists and 34 coalition list, the equivalent of 1517 lists.
Seventy seven parties are involved in this election, plus two parties coalition of 116 Tunisian authorized political parties. And the polling stations kept open until seven o\'clock in the evening.
Significant section of the Tunisian society fearing that the Islamists would swept the Constituent Assembly, especially since the opinion polls had suggested Al Nahda movement to win, which was banned during the rule of Bourguiba and Ben Ali.
Significant section of the Tunisian society fearing that the Islamists would swept the Constituent Assembly, especially since the opinion polls had suggested Al Nahda movement to win, which was banned during the rule of Bourguiba and Ben Ali.
“Ghannouchi Dégage!”
For the first time since his return to Tunisia and the authorization of his party, Nahda Islamic party, number of Tunisians shouted the slogan of the revolution \"Dégage!\" for Rachid Ghannouchi after voting in Bilel school in Menzah 6.
A group of citizens shouted to Ghannouchi \"Dégage!\", who was accompanied by members of his family, and entered the hall and voted while he was confused according to some observers, as he went out of the curtain holding the voting paper open; the group also described him as \'terrorist\' and \'murderer\' and asked him to return to his exile in London.
A lot of heads of the electoral lists accused the movement of trying to direct the voters and influence them, through their intensive attendance in front of the polling stations and their distributing of some posters that contain the logo of the movement.