Tunisia: A first election without voting ink in El Kabaria

The president of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), Farouk Bouasker, announced that the use of electoral ink was abolished for the first time during the voting process held as part of the partial legislative elections in the El Kabaria constituency, in the governorate of Tunis.

The vote aims to elect a new representative to the Assembly of People’s Representatives, following the vacancy of the parliamentary seat after the death of MP Saleh Mbareki.

Polling stations staffed by ISIE agents

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a visit carried out Sunday to Ibn Sina 1 Primary School, marking the start of the voting process, Farouk Bouasker said the authority had also relied on its own human resources to staff the polling centres.

According to him, all agents deployed across the 17 polling stations and centres are officials and staff members of the ISIE. This approach is expected to further reduce the costs of the partial legislative elections in El Kabaria, a point that will be reflected in the financial reports to be prepared by the authority during 2026.

Voting process launched under normal conditions

The ISIE president stated that the electoral process began under normal conditions, with no irregularities or problems recorded that could affect the conduct of the vote.

He also noted the presence of observers from civil society, media representatives and candidate delegates. Their number stood at around 100 observers, distributed across the various polling stations.

A possible second round in the absence of an absolute majority

Regarding the possibility of a second round, Farouk Bouasker explained that if no candidate secures an absolute majority of votes, meaning 50% plus one vote, a runoff will be held between the two candidates who come first and second.

He added that the ISIE Council is expected to meet to approve the election results and announce either the name of the winner or the two candidates concerned by a second round. The date of the runoff will be set during the deliberations, with the vote likely to be held within two to three weeks at most from the announcement of the results.

An election campaign under supervision

Regarding the election campaign, Bouasker said that campaigns in constituencies such as El Kabaria are mainly based on direct contact with citizens, particularly in cafés, markets and public spaces.

They also rely on electoral posters, as well as campaigning through social media and websites. The ISIE president stressed that all these activities were monitored by the authority.

He added that no major violations likely to influence the election results had been recorded, apart from a few limited breaches related to non-compliance with the rules governing the display of posters and photos outside the spaces allocated for that purpose.

17 polling centres and 59,580 registered voters

The 17 polling centres in the El Kabaria constituency opened their doors to voters at 8:00 a.m. The voting process continued until 6:00 p.m., allowing citizens to choose a new MP from among five candidates competing for the vacant seat.

The El Kabaria electoral constituency is made up of 8 imadas and currently has 59,580 registered voters.

Source: Tunis Afrique Presse agency

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