Runoffs due in most Tunisian districts in controversial parliament election

FILE PHOTO: A voter casts his ballot at a polling station during parliamentary election in Tunis, Tunisia December 17, 2022. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo

TUNIS (Reuters) - Runoffs will be held in most Tunisian regions after only 21 candidates secured victory in the first round of parliamentary elections, the electoral commission said on Monday, following the controversial vote marked by a very low turnout.

Only 8.8% of Tunisian voters cast ballots in Saturday's parliamentary elections, the country's electoral commission announced, after most political parties boycotted the vote as a charade to shore up President Kais Saied's power.