(MENAFN- QNA) Tunisian polling stations have opened for elections seen as a test of the country's transition to democracy.
Voting opened at 7am (06:00 GMT) on Sunday to elect a 217-member assembly and will close at 6pm. More than 4,500 polling booths have been set up, with security forces deploying heavily to avert possible attacks, (Al Jazeera) reported.
Results are expected to follow shortly after.
Sunday's general election will be the first under the country's new constitution and the second since the 2011 uprising that overthrew the regime of the former president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
More than 100 political parties are running. Former Ben Ali officials are allowed to run and are expected to win in regional cities where they remain popular.
More than 5.2 million people are eligible to vote, but there are concerns that turnout will be low despite widespread awareness campaigns educating citizens on the importance of voting.
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