By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
TUNIS, Tunisia–Nine months after a popular uprising that successfully ended decades of authoritarian rule, the pioneers of the region-wide protests are getting a true taste of freedom. Tunisians have begun to vote for new leaders who will create and implement the new rules for the country’s new political system.
The actions of Mohamed Bouazizi, the young vegetable seller who set himself on fire in December 2010, served as the catalyst for Tunisian revolt as well as the region-wide revolution.
Tunisia is the nation that started what became known as the “Arab Spring,” after a month-long uprising forced then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee to Saudia Arabia. The uprising quickly permeated neighboring countries Egypt and Libya, along with countries in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen. All of these countries have seen their citizens come together and protest for immediate and substantive change. Many lives, ranging from adults to children, have been lost in the process.
The polls in Tunis opened at approximately 07:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Sunday 23 October with some 7.2 million registered voters set to cast ballots to select a 217-member constituent assembly. In addition with being tasked to write a new constitution, the assembly will also bear the responsibility of appointing an interim president and a “transitional” government for the duration of the drafting process.
The real success of the Arab Spring could be measured by the success or failure of the Tunisian election. The result will send a strong signal to the people of other Arab countries who drew inspiration from Tunisia’s revolution as an example to begin their own uprisings. The latest prong of success comes from Libya, with the death of ruler Moammar Gaddafi.
At 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT), the polls closed and the results are set for announcement on Monday 24 October.
For the 217 representative seats, some 11,686 candidates are running in the election. Some 80 political parties will be represented in the election, while several thousands candidates are choosing to run as independents. Islamist party Ennahda is projected to secure the most votes, although it is unclear at this point if it will gain a majority.
Voters will choose from 11,686 candidates on 1,517 lists. There are 828 for political parties, 655 for independents, and 34 for party coalitions. Campaigning ended at midnight on Saturday 22 October and the ISIE independent polling commission reminded candidates and journalists that Saturday would be an “election silence day.”
Any breach was punishable by law, the ISIE independent polling commission warned.
Open elections for Tunisia come at the end of a long road. But nothing would stop the country’s citizens from coming out to have their voices heard in a substantive manner. On the ground, Al-Jazeera correspondents reported that high temperatures in and round the capital did not discourage hundreds of voters coming out and waited for hours in lines to cast their votes.
The government deployed some 40,000 police and soldiers to ensure that no possible protests could escalate into more violence. Many shopkeepers in Tunis claimed that many citizens had been stockpiling milk and bottled water, just in case any more occurrences of unrest disrupted the supply of necessities.
The country’s election chief, Kamel Jendoubi, claimed that his independent ISIE polling commission was “ready and confident” before the voting began. The European Union’s observer mission reported that the elections were promulgated as legitimately as possible and that there was “almost no chance of cheating or falsifying results.”
The mother of Mohamed Bouazizi shared these sentiments about the election.
“Now I am happy that my son’s death has given the chance to get beyond fear and injustice. I’m an optimist, I wish success for my country.”
Ahram news organization spoke with Mohamed Ben Salah, a 30 year-old man, who said that voting was a privilege, months afer he joined other Tunisians in protests over corruption, poverty, and unemployment that forced former President Ben Ali to flee to Saudia Arabia.
“I am 30 years old, but I have no work, no wife, no car, no house. I will be voting for freedom and for jobs.”
CNN correspondents interviewed housewife Maha Haubi just as she took her position at the end of a long line of more than 1,000 voters anxiously awaiting a chance to cast their ballots outside an elementary school in Menzah.
“It’s a holiday. Before we never even had the right to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”
For more information, please see:
Al-Jazeera – Polls Open in Historic Tunisia Election – 23 October 2011
BBC – Tunisia Voters Go To Polls in Historic Free Election – 23 October 2011
CNN – Tunisians Vote in First Election of Arab Spring – 23 October 2011
Reuters – Large Turnout in Tunisia’s Arab Spring Election – 23 October 2011
Ahram – Tunisians Gear Up For Historic Vote – 22 October 2011
The Guardian – Tunisians Go To Polls Haunted By Ghosts of Old Regime – 22 October 2011
NYT – Financing Questions Shadow Tunisian Vote, First of Arab Spring – 22 October 2011
