Tunisians are voting today in the first election of the Arab Spring uprisings, and were expected to hand a share of power to Islamists for the first time.
The election, the first free vote in Tunisia's history, will set a standard for other Arab countries where uprisings have triggered political change or governments have tried to rush reforms to stave off unrest.
Tunisia set the Arab Spring in motion 10 months ago, when mass protests over poverty, unemployment and government oppression forced president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia.
"These are moments we have been waiting a long time for," said Ahmed, a 50-year-old standing in a long queue outside a polling station in the capital. "How could I miss it? In a few moments we are going to go down in history."
Turnout was nearly 70 per cent with three hours left until polling stations close, the head of the independent organisation overseeing the election said. "The average is approaching 70 per cent," Kamel Jandoubi said at a media conference.
Early this morning, lines of voters snaked hundreds of metres back along the streets from the schools which were being used as polling stations. Such a level of interest was never seen during Mr Ben Ali's rule, when only trickle of people turned out for elections because they knew the result was pre-determined.
Today’s vote is for an assembly that will draft a new constitution to replace the one Mr Ben Ali manipulated to entrench his power. It will also appoint an interim government and set elections for a new president and parliament.
The mother of Mohamed Bouazizi, the young man whose self-immolation last December triggered the Tunisian revolt, said the election was a victory for dignity and freedom. "Now I am happy that my son's death has given the chance to get beyond fear and injustice," said Manoubia Bouazizi. "I'm an optimist, I wish success for my country."
The Islamist Ennahda party, banned under the former regime, is expected to gain the biggest share of votes. But it will probably not win enough to give it a majority in the assembly and will seek to lead a coalition.
The North African country's elite fear the rise of Ennahda puts their secular values under threat.
Ennahda has been at pains to assuage the concerns of secularists and Western powers, fielding several women candidates including one who does not wear the hijab, or headscarf, and promising not to undermine women's freedoms.
Fundamentalist Salafist Islamists have attacked a cinema and a TV station in recent months over artistic material deemed blasphemous. Ennahda says they have nothing to do with them, but liberals do not believe them.
Observers say Ennahda's intentions are not clear. Its election campaign has scrupulously avoided offering policy details that mark it out as much different from its rivals.
An Ennahda victory would be the first such success in the Arab world since Hamas won a 2006 Palestinian vote. Islamists won a 1991 Algerian election the army annulled, provoking years of conflict.
Ennahda's fortunes could have a bearing on Egyptian elections set for next month in which the Muslim Brotherhood, an ideological ally, also hopes to emerge strongest. With so much at stake, there are concerns that even the smallest doubt over the legitimacy of the Tunisian vote could bring supporters of rival parties onto the streets.
The government says 40,000 police and soldiers are being deployed to prevent any protests escalating into violence. Shopkeepers say people have been stockpiling milk and bottled water in case unrest disrupts supplies.
Reuters