Tunisia sees low turnout in first municipal elections since 2011

TUNIS, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian elections authorities said on Sunday that the turnout in the first municipal elections since the 2011 revolution is relatively low.

By 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) Sunday when the polling stations closed, the national voting rate stood at only 33.7 percent, with 1.79 million voters, according to the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE).

Spread across 350 constituencies in 24 provinces, 11,185 polling stations opened early Sunday to host the 5.3 million registered Tunisian voters, who will elect their municipal councilors from more than 53,000 candidates on 2,074 electoral lists, which consist of 1,055 party lists, 860 independent lists and 159 coalition lists.

The ruling party Nidaa Tounes and its main ally the Islamist party Ennahda (Renaissance) are seen as the two major political forces in the elections.

Earlier in the day, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi appealed for a bigger turnout, after his visit to a polling station in the Soukra district of the northern province of Ariana.

"Tunisian people must have a strong conscience by freely choosing the right candidates to take the reins of local power," said Essebsi.

In the southern province of Ben Arous, the Ennahda Party leader Rached Ghannouchi said the transitional democratic process in Tunisia "will not stop."

These municipal elections were "a constitutional achievement likely to move Tunisia to the stage of decentralization of power, which will be transferred to local authorities," he told media.

For some Tunisian voters, the last seven years are relatively disappointing, despite achievements in some socio-economic sectors.

Almost 650,000 Tunisians are unemployed, accounting for about 15 percent of the labor force, while the inflation rate has exceeded 6.5 percent, despite government efforts and foreign supports from the EU, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

"Although disappointed by the unsuccessful promises made after the last legislative and presidential elections in 2014, I decided to go to the ballot box to carry on my constitutional right," said 26-year-old Mohamed Haffoudhi at a polling station in Mourouj, a constituency in the southern province of Ben Arous.

As a handball referee, Haffoudhi regretted about the current socioeconomic situation in his country, notably the deterioration of purchasing power marked by price hikes, and the social crisis in some underdeveloped marginalized areas.

Sarra Chikhaoui, a 27-year-old pharmacist, regarded the municipal elections as a last chance to improve his country's governance.

The majority of Tunisian provinces, including certain districts of the capital Tunis, are suffering from hygiene and health problems.

The preliminary results of the municipal elections are scheduled to come out on May 9, while the final ones will be announced no later than June 13, after the appeals are processed. Enditem