'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.

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