Rania Jasmine has no plans to vote in Tunisia’s upcoming parliamentary and first-ever presidential elections. “I don’t want to vote because I don’t trust any political party,” the 24-year-old university student, studying English literature and linguistics, told Al Jazeera. While she voted for the moderate Islamist party Ennahda in the previous elections, she said she was disappointed by the party’s performance. “[Ennahda] really disappointed me before as they were not the ones who were actually running the country,” Jasmine said. “They were [too] afraid of the opposition. So I prefer not to regret my choice again like the first time I voted.” After Tunisians toppled the 23-year presidency of strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country held its first democratic elections in October 2011 to form the Constituent Assembly, a temporary government put in place to run the country until this year’s elections.
The Constituent Assembly had been dominated by Ennahda, which formed a coalition with both the centre-left Congress for the Republic, and left-leaning Ittakol parties. However, Ennahda resigned from the government earlier this year following a political crisis triggered by the assassination of two leading opposition politicians.
This year’s parliamentary polls is scheduled for October 26 while the presidential election is slated for November 23, a second round of presidential voting has been set for December 28.
Despite widespread support for the revolution, Jasmine is one of many Tunisians who told Al Jazeera that they have low expectations for the upcoming elections, which will determine the government for the next five years.
Full Article: Tunisia voters shun upcoming elections – Yahoo News UK.
