Tunisians living abroad began casting their votes in the 2024 presidential elections on Friday, with polling stations within Tunisia set to open on October 6.
Farouk Bouaskar, president of Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), announced the commencement of overseas voting during the inauguration of the media center for the elections on Thursday night. The first ballots were cast in Sydney, Australia, as polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. local time (2200 GMT on Thursday).
The ISIE has set up 319 polling centers and 409 polling stations in 58 countries across all continents to accommodate the three-day voting process.
According to Bouaskar, permanent voting offices have been established in most Tunisian embassies and consulates abroad. There are 642,810 registered voters overseas.
On September 2, the ISIE confirmed the final list of three presidential candidates: incumbent President Kais Saied, seeking a second five-year term; Zouhair Maghzaoui, leader of the People’s Movement party; and Ayachi Zammel, secretary-general of the Azimoun Movement, who is currently in detention over alleged election-related offenses.
The final results of the election are expected to be announced no later than November 9.
Tunisia’s presidential elections, held every five years, see Saied running for re-election after first taking office in 2019.
