'The run-up to Sunday has been rather unusual for a presidential election'
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00:009.7 million Tunisians were called to the polls this Sunday to elect their next president.
00:08The elections are really important for me. We have to choose the person that we think
00:12capable of serving the country. We can't change things with talk and words alone.
00:18I'm here today because these elections are important and it's our national duty. We must
00:25fulfil our duty to our country, Tunisia.
00:29The run-up to Sunday has been rather unusual for a presidential election. There have been
00:32no campaign rallies or public debates. Only three candidates were able to get approval
00:38from Tunisia's electoral commission.
00:40Current President Kai Seyed is facing off against former lawmaker and left-wing nationalist
00:45Zawahir Maghzawi, as well as Ayashi Zamel, leader of the Liberal Azzamoun party.
00:51Among the issues on people's minds is the country's economy, with weak economic growth,
00:55high inflation and a lack of jobs pushing many young people to leave Tunisia and to
01:00take the risk of crossing over to Europe illegally.
01:04I'm 17 years old. When we see those who are 25, 27 years old, doing nothing, what can
01:10we do? It's a better situation for us. We tell ourselves that we would be better off
01:16leaving illegally and not staying in this country.
01:19The election authority has reported a voter turnout of only about 28 per cent, a stark
01:24contrast with the 45 per cent turnout in 2019 and the lowest Tunisia has recorded in a presidential
01:30poll since its revolution in 2011. Preliminary results are expected on Monday night.