Tunisians head to polls to elect new president for next five years

Polling stations in Tunisia opened their doors, Sunday, for voters in the presidential elections, Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia (ISIE) said. The number of registered voters is estimated at more than 9,753,000 who will vote in 9,669 polling stations across the country, ISIE added. The elections are being contested by the outgoing president Kais Saied, who is seeking a second term, head of "People's Movement" Zuhair Al-Maghzawi, and head of "Azmoun Movement" Ayachi Zemal, who has been in prison for more than a month and sentenced to prison for electoral cases. These elections come amid an economic crisis that Tunisia is experiencing, which has led to an increase in the cost of living for Tunisians, which poses a challenge to the elections authority regarding the participation rate. Two days ago, ISIE head Farouk Bouasker said that the announcement of the preliminary results of the presidential elections would be no later than October 9. Source: Kuwait News Agency