Tunisia.. “modest” participation in the legislative elections, and an official explains the reason

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Farouk Bouaskar, head of the Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia, commented on the “modest” turnout by voters in the country’s legislative elections.

According to what was reported by the official Tunisian News Agency, Bouaskar attributed the low voter turnout mainly to “the change in the polling system and the absence of political money in the electoral campaigns,” as he said that “the elections are clean, and that the electoral campaign takes place for the first time in a pure atmosphere of suspicious political money, which was the reason.” Behind the buying of votes, and the use of the media for the benefit of political parties.”

He added, “The candidates were able, through their individual efforts, to attract the 800,000-vote electorate,” noting that “the participation rates could have been much higher if the legal system for public and foreign funding continued and the use of associations and television channels continued.”

And he indicated that “the Commission spared no effort in carrying out the necessary awareness campaign in the audio-visual media, in the street, and through telephone dispatches, to persuade voters to go to the polls,” stressing that “the Commission spent the sums of money allocated for the awareness campaign away from waste, as it is entrusted with public money.” He refused to describe the participation rates as “shameful”, considering that this is not objective.