TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisians on Sunday voted in the second round of local elections, marred by a boycott from opposition parties.

Polling stations in 785 electoral districts across the country opened at 8:00 a.m. local time (0700GMT) and closed at 6:00 p.m. (1700GMT), according to the country’s election commission.

Farouk Bouasker, the commission’s chief, announced during a news conference in Tunis that the voter turnout in the elections was approximately 12.44%.

The turnout in the first round of the election, held on Dec. 24, was 11.84%, according to Bouasker.

Tunisia has been in the throes of deep political crisis that has aggravated the country's economic conditions since 2021 when President Kais Saied ousted the government and dissolved parliament.  

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi and Rania Abu Shamala