Tunisians have been queuing out to vote in their country’s first free and fair election, apparently showing serious enthusiasm for Sunday’s exercise during which the voter turnout reached 16.3pc by midday.
The figure was according to the electoral watchdog ISIE.
In comparison, the 2014 presidential polls recorded a 12pc turnout at the corresponding period, and eventually climbed up to 60pc.
Among the 26 candidates originally registered to take part, only 24 contenders are vying for the presidency after two – Mohsen Marzouk and Slim Riahi withdrew from the race.
The pair had announced they were throwing their weight behind former Defense minister Abdelkarim Zbidi who is a contender.
Nearly seven million Tunisians are registered to take part in the election which was initially scheduled for November after legislative polls slated for October 6th.
However, in line with the country’s constitution, the imperative to finding a successor to Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi, who died on July 25th aged 92, moved the presidential election two months early.
Late Essebsi was Tunisia’s first democratically-elected president after the 2011 revolution toppled Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered the so-called Arab Spring.
RFT/DNG/APA