STORY: Voting for Tunisia's local council elections held
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 24, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 25, 2023
LENGTH: 00:04:26
LOCATION: Tunis
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of people voting at a polling station

STORYLINE:

Voting for Tunisia's local council elections began on Sunday, the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) said.

Polling started at 8 a.m. local time (0700 GMT), with 4,685 voting centers and 8,174 polling stations being set up in 2,155 constituencies, said the ISIE.

More than 9 million voters were expected to cast their ballots in the elections to choose their local representatives, according to data from the Supreme Electoral Council.

A total of 7,205 candidates are running for the elections, with 279 local councils expected to be elected.

Preliminary results of the parliamentary elections will be announced on Wednesday, the ISIE said.

The elections, the first to be held under the country's new Tunisian Constitution ratified in 2022, will result in the creation of local, regional and district councils, and will allow for the establishment of the second chamber of parliament, known as the National Council of Regions and Districts, which will play the role of drawing up development projects for the regions.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Tunis.
(XHTV)