Tunisians Snub Vote for Assembly After President’s Power Revamp

(Bloomberg) -- About 9% of eligible voters participated in Tunisia’s first parliamentary election since President Kais Saied suspended the previous assembly and revamped power sharing.

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Around 803,600 of the 9.1 million potential voters cast their ballots after the vast majority of polling stations closed at 6 pm local time, election commission chief Farouk Bouasker said in comments aired by state television channel al-Wataniya. Male voters accounted for two-thirds the total participants, he added.

The turnout figure is the country’s lowest for any election since Tunisians overthrew long-time dictator the late Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Those protests sparked similar ‘Arab Spring’ revolts across the Middle East but Tunisia was the only country with an enduring political transition.

Early results will be announced on Monday, Bouaskar said.

Read: Turnout Low So Far as Tunisians Shun ‘Dummy’ Parliament Vote (2)

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