Members of the army in Tunisia cast their votes today in the municipal elections

�Affiliate – INA Security and army personnel headed to the polls on Sunday morning to cast their votes in the parliamentary elections in a precedent that is the first of its kind in the history of the military and security institutions in Tunisia. The presidency of the Tunisian Independent High Authority for Elections called on all security and military personnel to participate extensively in the municipal elections, noting that it had taken special measures to protect the security and military units, and that it had decided to mix the votes of the security and military personnel with the votes of the rest of the voters to ensure the confidentiality of their votes, and to prohibit the suspension of lists of security and military voters. The Supreme Elections Authority stated that, on the voting day that Tunisia will witness on May 6, it will be prohibited to photograph security personnel and military personnel in polling stations with their faces uncovered, and opinion polling institutions will be prevented from asking them about the list they voted for. It is expected that about 36,000 security and military personnel will cast their votes in these elections, despite the call of the National Union of Tunisian Internal Security Forces to boycott the elections, considering it “a departure from neutrality, and an involvement of the security establishment in political and partisan tensions.” The municipal elections are considered the most important political event in Tunisia this year, as they are an influential step, and they are the first of their kind since the fall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime in 2011, as the last municipal elections that took place in Tunisia date back to May 2010. The Tunisian parliament had approved in January 2017 to allow security and military personnel to participate in the municipal elections, following a proposal submitted by the parliamentary blocs of the “Nidaa Tounes”, “Afaq Tounes”, “Popular Front” and “Free Bloc” parties.