Tunisians Prepare To Elect New President On Sunday

Tunisians are gearing up to cast their ballots on Sunday to elect the country's next president in a runoff vote that pits interim President Moncef Marzouki against Beji Caid Essebsi of the Nidaa Tounes party.



The first round of the Tunisia's presidential election – in which 27 candidates competed – saw Essebsi winning some 1.9 million votes (39.4 percent) and Marzouki clinching roughly 1.1 million votes (33.4 percent).



Nearly 5.3 million Tunisian voters are eligible to cast ballot in Sunday's election, which is billed as the country's first democratic presidential election.



Voters are distributed among 33 electoral districts with over 10,000 polling stations across the country's 24 provinces.



Expatriate voters began casting their ballot in the polls on Friday and will continue until Sunday.



Electoral campaigns for the runoff vote kicked off Tuesday – both in Tunisia and overseas – and ended on December 19.



In October 26 parliamentary polls, Essebsi' Nidaa Tounes won 86 seats in the 217-seat assembly; Islamist Ennahda party won 69 seats; the liberal Free Patriotic Union won 16 seats and the leftist Popular Front party won 15 seats.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Tunis