Tunisian parliamentary vote ends with high turnout

The Tunisian parliamentary election ended Sunday evening with a high turnout rate.

Almost 60 percent of more than five million eligible voters turned out for Sunday's parliamentary election which closed at 1700 GMT, Xinhua reported citing the Independent Higher Authority for the Elections (ISIE).

About 13,000 candidates from nearly 90 political parties are vying for the 217 seats in a new parliament.

Sunday's election is the first under the North African country's new constitution drafted in January and one of the final steps in Tunisia's political transition, which followed the ousting of the country's former leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

The preliminary results are expected to be revealed within next few days, but the official date has not been announced yet, the election board said. But the main competition is between the Islamist Ennahda Party and the secular Nida Tunis, which has been presenting itself as the sole force strong enough to stand up against the Islamists.