Tunisian President Kais Saied

Tunisian President Kais Saied affirmed on Saturday that the Tunisian parliamentary election is meant to stand in the way of those who plundered the country and set themselves up as its guardians.

This comes at a time when Tunisians headed to polling stations to elect new members of the parliament, in the first legislative election since the adoption of the country's new constitution, which was announced by Saied last July.

The Independent Supreme Elections Commission in Tunisia announced that 440,000 voters have cast their ballots as of 11:30 local time, with a 5% participation rate.

The Tunisian President claimed that the election is part of a road map to end the chaos and corruption that plagued Tunisia under the previous regime.

Saied said the election day was a historic day par excellence, adding that the previous voting method in Tunisia was obsolete and past experiences are clear proof of that.

"We will write a new history for Tunisia and its people, who will live in their homeland free with their rights to health, education, transportation, and social security guaranteed," Saied affirmed.

On its part, the Independent Supreme Elections Commission in Tunisia stated that 9.2 million Tunisians are invited to vote in the legislative election.

In this election, 1058 candidates are competing for 161 seats. Voters will vote for candidates individually instead of lists prepared by parties, and the principle of gender parity, which was approved in 2016 as one of the main demands in 2011, has been abolished.

A Russian delegation arrived on Friday in the Tunisian capital to participate in observing the parliamentary elections.

The election comes as opposition political groups in the North African country have called for a boycott, saying the election is part of a "coup" against the country's democracy.

This is the first election after Saied's exceptional measures, which included dissolving the parliament and the Judicial Council, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, and approving a new constitution for the country through a referendum held on July 25, 2022.

Nejib Chebbi, head of an anti-Saied coalition, including the Islamist Ennahda movement, has labeled the election a "still-born farce".

Saied argues that these measures were necessary to save Tunisia from collapse, while his opponents consider it a coup against the 2014 constitution.

The polls are due to close at 6 pm (1700 GMT).