The election authority has done its best to raise public awareness about the importance of local elections. Nonetheless, voters are more than fed up with the elections because of the failure of previous ballots, said member of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) Najla Abrougui.
In a statement to the media on Sunday at the El Menzah Sports Centre, the ISIE member pointed out that the low turnout has no impact on the setting up of local councils.
She affirmed that voter turnout rates has been up, adding that some 700,000 Tunisian voters, or 7.68% of the electorate, went to the polls and exercised their voting right.
On the other hand, Abrougui was optimistic about the turnout figures, considering that they may rise by a crescendo, especially as previous experience has shown that young people are more inclined to vote in the evening.
While reaffirming the importance of this new election and its close relation to the development process in the country, notably in the imadas and marginalised r
egions, Abrougui assured that the turnout would in no way affect the process of setting up the local councils, and that the ballot would be conducted smoothly without any violations.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, three hours before polling stations closed, the turnout in the first round of local elections reached 7.68%, according to figures released by ISIE President Farouk Bouaskar.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse