Islamists hope to stay on top as Tunisians choose parliament

TUNIS, Tunisia – Tunisians were electing a new parliament Sunday amid a tumultuous political season, with a moderate Islamist party and a jailed tycoon’s populist movement vying to come out on top of a crowded field.

Security was tight for the vote, with some 100,000 police officers and soldiers patrolling 4,500 polling stations, notably along the Algerian and Libyan borders.

Economic concerns are paramount to voters in this North African nation on the Mediterranean Sea, which kicked off the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 and built a democracy but is still struggling with high unemployment and attacks by extremists.

Voters are choosing among nearly 16,000 candidates from more than 200 parties to fill the 217 seats on the Assembly of People’s Representatives. Preliminary results are expected by Thursday.

It will be tough for a single party to win a majority for the five-year term, although the Islamist party Ennahdha and the Qalb Tounes party of jailed media magnate Nabil Karoui are expected to do well.

The parliamentary election is sandwiched between rounds of a bizarre presidential race that will see Karoui face independent law professor Kais Saied in a presidential runoff on Oct. 13.

The Islamist party Ennahdha, the biggest party in the outgoing legislature, is hoping to hold on to its lead by campaigning against corruption and against Karoui. The businessman is accused of tax evasion and money laundering, but denies wrongdoing and says he’s being politically targeted.

The legislative election has aroused little public interest, which is more focused on the presidential race, but political analysts say Sunday’s vote will have lasting impact.

“These elections are of paramount importance, because it is the winners who will decide the future of our country and our major political, economic and social choices,” said analyst and former government minister Hakim Ben Hammouda.