Historic elections under way in Tunisia - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Nine months after a popular uprising that ended decades of authoritarian rule, Tunisians have begun to vote for new leaders who will write the rules of the country's new political system.
Polls opened at 07:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Sunday, with about 4.4 million registered voters set to pick a 217-member constituent assembly. That multi-party body will, in addition to drafting a new constitution, also be charged with appointing an interim president and a caretaker government for the duration of the drafting process.

More than 11,000 candidates are running in the election, representing 80 political parties. Several thousand candidates are running as independents.
Polls close at 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT), and results will be declared on Monday.

Al Jazeera's correspondents on the ground reported that despite high temperatures in and around the capital, hundreds came out and waited for hours in queues in order to cast their votes.

The government says that 40,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to prevent any possible protests escalating into violence. Shopkeepers in Tunis, meanwhile, said that people had been stockpiling milk and bottled water in case any unrest disrupted the supply of necessities.

Kamel Jendoubi, the country's election chief, declared his independent ISIE polling commission "ready and confident" ahead of voting, while the European Union's observer mission said there was "almost no chance of cheating or falsifying results".

The European Union hailed Tunisia's elections and vowed support for the new authorities, while David Cameron, the British prime minister, said: "As the first country in the region to put democracy to the test at the polling booth, Tunisia is once again leading the way."

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Historic elections under way in Tunisia - Africa - Al Jazeera English