Over 60% of Tunisia electorate cast ballots in parliamentary polls

President of the Independent Higher Authority for the Elections (ISIE) Chafik Sarsar said the just-ended legislative elections have seen high turnout with more than 60 percent of eligible voters casting ballots.
"The percentage, registered an hour and a have before the closing time at 6:00 p.m., local time, (5:00 p.m., GMT), was 50.85," Sarsar told reporters on Sunday night.
"It's impossible to know the preliminary results of the elections tonight since the last ballot boxes will arrive here from across the country only on Monday at 10 a.m.," he stressed.
He expected the preliminary results to be announced by October 30 and the final results on November 42 after judiciary rulings on appeals. "Tunisia is stepping across the threshold of democracy with a significant number of voters electing 217 representatives to the parliament for the coming five years," Sarsar said, noting that the country has gone a long way towards democracy since January 14, 2011.
Despite challenging economic conditions and security unrest, the country was able to lay firm foundation for a democratic, pluralist system as shown in the newly-adopted constitution, the ISIE chief added.
Surveys by observers indicate that the biggest winners will be the secularist Call of Tunisia party and the Islamist Ennahda movement.