Tunisia: Presidential Election Campaign Abroad Begins Thursday
The presidential election campaign abroad will commence on Thursday, featuring three candidates. The Independent High Authority for Elections has announced the acceptance of their candidacies: Ayachi Zammal, Secretary General of the “Azmoun” movement, Zouhair Maghzaoui, Secretary General of the “People’s Movement,” and the outgoing president Kais Saied.
The number of registered voters abroad has exceeded 620,000, following the addition of 300,000 registrants through automatic registration for those who turned 18 on election day, according to Najlaa Al-Abrouqi, a member of the electoral commission, speaking to the Tunisian news agency (TAP) on Wednesday.
These voters, located in 48 countries, will cast their votes at 363 polling centers covering 439 polling stations.
Free Voting
Al-Abrouqi added that the electoral authority has enabled voters abroad to vote at any center of their choice in the country they reside in, under the “free voting” system.
She explained that this system allows voting in a different country than the one where the voter is registered if the voter is in that country during the election days. She also noted that safeguards have been put in place, such as the automatic deletion of any voter who casts their vote in a different center from their registered one to prevent double voting.
She also mentioned that the number of active voters abroad has not previously exceeded thirty thousand, expressing hope that free voting will ensure a larger turnout for this election.
The foreign electoral commissions are divided into ten regions: France 1, France 2, France 3, Italy, Germany, other European countries, Arab countries, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas.
1.8 Million Tunisians
Official statistics indicate that about 1.8 million Tunisians live abroad legally, representing 15% of the country’s population. Europe attracts about 86% of the Tunisian community abroad, including approximately 56% in France, 15% in Italy, and about 7% in Germany.
Residents in Arab countries account for 10% of the community, while North American countries (Canada and the United States) attract 6.6% of Tunisians abroad.
The Tunisian community abroad is divided by age group: over 68% are in the 18 to 64 age group, while more than 15% are over 65 years old.
