Tunisia’s elections: Celebrating Democracy and Civic Responsibility
Antonella Vicini 25 October 2011

“Have you been to the polling stations? Have you seen how many people are there?”—On October 23rd the people of Tunis want to talk, to prove they have re-conquered their freedom and their dignity and are proud of it. Whatever the results may be, October 23rd, 2011 will remain a historic day in Tunisia’s history, with a record turnout of about 90% of eligible voters in the first free elections in 23 years. There have been no incidents reported, with the exception of a few organizational problems mainly concerning the counting of the votes, which is understandable in a newborn democracy. Talking to OSCE representatives meeting in Tunis, Kamel Jendoubi, head of the Instance Superieure Indipendante pour les Elections, or ISIE, was clear when he said, “One cannot have Switzerland or Sweden as a reference parameter. We have never had a free election before today, but we have all the elements of political modernity.”

Official results will be announced only on Tuesday afternoon, after much recounting and a crosscheck system meant to guarantee the absence of ballot rigging. According to Jendoubi, the greatest problem for the ISIE is overcoming the diffidence of those who, for more than two decades, have been deprived of their right to choose. For this reason, one of the most popular poster slogans in the press and in the election campaign has been Je vote donc je suis [I vote, therefore I am]. “People asked us what the point of voting was, and we have had [only] four or five months to gain their trust,” explained Jendoubi.

The ISIE campaign has obviously been successful, as demonstrated by the desire and the patience with which Tunisians waited, at times for four hours under the sun, for a chance to vote from the moment polling stations opened at 7a.m. in the morning. Those waiting in lines were orderly, excited and smiling. Whole families, groups of friends and young people waited, some wrapped in the Tunisian flag and others wearing T-shirts bearing the image of Ché Guevara. Some even stated openly the party they intended to vote for. Most people, however, decided to exercise their right to secrecy. “We are now living in a democracy, and in democracies the vote is secret,” said 24-year-old Aymen, who, like others lining up outside the school in Rue de Marseille, was voting for the very first time.

Rania, aged 25, teaches French and after waiting for two hours she asked for her photograph to be taken, happy “just to be here.” At the polling booths near the station, Zakaria asked to be photographed just as he took his ballot paper, entered the cabin, placed the folded ballot paper in the box and placed his index finger in the inkbottle. Zakaria returned from Canada to cast his vote, at the age of 30, with a job abroad that involves a great deal of travel. “In January,” he explained, “I could not take part in what was happening, because I was in Egypt for work. I wanted to be here today to really feel like a citizen.” “This morning,” he added, “My family and I got ready and left the house. People in the streets were talking to one another, asking who had voted and where.” Mohamed, a retired engineer, had only voted once before Sunday, obliged by Ben Ali’s police “who came to fetch me at home. Today, however, I feel like a real Tunisian.”

The October 23rd election in Tunisia has all the characteristics of a historic event, further heightened by a sense of national pride and mixed with the awareness of being watched by the world. Tunisians affirm this, as they speak freely with the hundreds of journalists gathered here to bear witness to what is happening in the country where the Arab Spring began.

Ikman, for example, has taken his daughter Rana’a inside the polling station, “because I want her to remember this moment.” Voters shout, “Vive la vie” in the streets, ink-stained index fingers raised in a V for Victory sign. According to Sondes, a student in economics in Tunis, nothing like this has ever been seen before, not even at sports events. Sondes is 22-years-old, and all she has known in her life is Ben Ali. Perhaps that is why she admits, “I was a little confused. I did not know who to vote for, but now, after talking to my friends and attending debates at my university, I have made my choice.”

She voted for Ettakatol (Forum Démocratique pour le Travail et les Libertés) [Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties], a socialist movement led by Ben Jaafar, although according to the polls the Ennahda party is still expected win. In Sfax alone Ennahda has allegedly won 70% of the votes, as well as 50% of the vote among Tunisians in Italy. “I hope our time will come after years of being banned and persecuted,” said Slim, a candidate for Ennahda, at one of the many special polling stations opened for voters who had not registered before August 14th. These polling stations, with about a thousand across the country, have been one miracle of these elections. Prepared to welcome up to two million Tunisians, they have become an unexpected reserve for many voters. On Sunday morning, voters could learn which polling station they could vote at by text message, after registering directly. Slim was at his designated voting station at 5a.m. after an excited, sleepless night, and he certainly wasn’t the only one.

The Tunisian expressed themselves in speeding cars with their horns honking and with flags waving from their windows. Now, just as in January, all together they took to the streets to put an end to a repressive and violent regime, now together they wait for ballot counting to start with friends or relatives or at party headquarters. The time taken to count the ballots has only slightly dimmed the festive atmosphere.

Translated by Francesca Simmons

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