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People queue to vote as candidates from 110 political parties and scores of independents bid to join new 217-seat government At 7am, at the front of a long queue outside a polling station near the Tunis casbah yesterday, shop assistant Samira was impatiently waiting for the doors to open on Tunisia’s first free elections. The 50-year-old had been camped there since 5.45am in order to be the first voter and had not slept a wink all night. “How could I sleep? It’s the first time I’ve ever voted in my life,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “What’s one night when we’ve waited decades for freedom? This ballot box is what we took to the streets for.” Nine months after a people’s revolution ousted the despot Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and inspired uprisings across the region, Tunisia on Sunday was holding the first vote of the Arab spring. The small country of 10 million was being watched by the Arab world as an experiment in moving from dictatorship to democracy. If the elections usher in a credible new political class after 50 years of a one-party state, they could boost the democratic hopes for neighbouring such as post-Gaddafi Libya and Egypt, where there is profound uncertainty. One common complaint among Tunisians is that they were never able to properly celebrate their revolution with an outpouring of joy. When Ben Ali fled, it was followed by weeks of curfews, uncertainty and violent outbreaks stoked by remnants of the old regime. Then people again took to the streets and occupied the casbah to protest over a succession of weak, discredited and ineffective transition governments featuring faces present under the old regime. Ben Ali is in Saudi Arabia but his state apparatus remains in place: torture and police brutality continues, the justice system is craven and compromised, corruption is rife and unemployment – a main cause of the revolution – is rising. “There’s an overwhelming sense of joy and relief,” said Mehdi Lassoued, a tyre company worker, wrapped in the Tunisian flag. “I feel we are finally moving on, that we can finish this revolution, vote for a legitimate government.” Tunis university professor Ghofrane Ben Miled said: “There’s so much expectation and excitement on the street. I didn’t sleep, I was wired. It felt like the nights during the revolution, but calmer. I’m 42 and I’ve never voted before.” Flag-festooned cars with horns blaring were everywhere and hundreds queued in the sun, wearing home-made paper hats. Asked who the election winner would be, most said: “We all will.” During the 23 years under Ben Ali’s notorious secret police, elections were a farce and few turned out to vote. Those who officially did vote were often in fact dead. Ben Ali would achieve unlikely landslides, such as the 99.91% he announced in 1994. The people’s uprising that began in December with the self-immolation of a poor vegetable seller in a desolate rural town was not led by any party, ideology or religion. So the election is the first test of a new political landscape. There are now 110 political parties and scores of independents. Tunisians will appoint a 217-seat assembly with the specific role of rewriting the constitution to prepare for parliamentary elections next year. A complex proportional representation system means that no one party will dominate the assembly. But the Islamist party, An-Nahda, previously outlawed and brutally repressed, is expected to win an important share of the vote. The party has campaigned as a moderate, pro-democracy force, vowing to respect the diversity of Tunisia – one of the region’s most highly educated countries, with a strong secular tradition and the most advanced women’s rights in the Arab world. An-Nahda likens itself to Turkey’s Islamist-rooted ruling Justice and Development party – liberal and conservative. Secular critics say An-Nahda is an unknown quantity and its hardliners could seek to enforce a more fundamentalist Islam on Tunisia’s civil society. When its leader, Rachid Ghannouchi, who recently returned from 22 years of exile in London, arrived at to vote followed by camera crews he walked straight to the front. But he was jeered by crowds waiting to vote, who shouted: “The queue, the queue! Democracy starts there!” He swiftly took his place in the line and said: “The people have a hunger for democracy.” The assembly is also likely to feature an array of secular centrist parties, such as the centre-left Ettakatol which was in opposition under Ben Ali. Its founder, Mustapha Ben Jaafar, 70 – who is a doctor and professor of medicine – was barred from running for president in 2009 but is tipped to seek a senior position in the new government, perhaps the interim presidency. He faces opposition from Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, 67, of the rival PDP. A new party, the Congress for the Republic, led by long-exiled human rights activist Moncef Marzouki, is also expected to win seats. A high turnout is expected – as high as 80% in some precincts. Full results will be released on Monday. The assembly will face wrangling over who gets the top jobs. Those elected might choose to focus on the vast task of producing a new democratic constitution – to build a new state – while a government of technocrats keeps the country ticking over. With unemployment officially at 19% but thought to be much higher (and over 40% for graduate women), the government will be pressured to kickstart the economy and deal with the huge divide between Tunisia’s golden tourist coast and the poor interior. In Ettadhamen, a poor, densely-populated suburb of Tunis which rose up in the revolution and saw young men killed by Ben Ali’s forces, hundreds were queueing to vote at primary schools. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Lameen Muhammed, a teacher. “Nine months ago you couldn’t even talk about politics in the street for fear of the secret police. The stress was unbearable. “Now everyone’s out debating and voting, the stress has lifted. It has been difficult, but we’re leaning towards democracy. With this vote, the people will have spoken.” A 52-year-old builder said he would choose An-Nahda. “They have a history of struggle against the regime, they were treated brutally, their families suffered. I want them to improve security. There are a lot of problems here. Alcohol is sold openly, and there are drugs sold on the street.” A stay-at-home mother, 44, in long robe and headscarf said she had voted for the centrist secular party Ettakatol because she liked what its spokesmen said on TV. Meanwhile, a student had chosen the CPR, “They’re a new party, I trust them. I’m nearly 20 – I’m desperate to think I can hope for some kind of job.” Amid the optimism there was a sense of vigilance. Many said that the people had staged the revolution and they would take to the streets again if they felt they were being cheated or let down. Najila Ahrissi, one of the many cleaners who leave Ettadhamen each day to work in the homes of the rich for about £150 a month, had voted for a small secular party. She said: “In the old days, every election here was fixed. Let’s just hope we can trust the politicians of tomorrow.” Tunisia Arab and Middle East unrest Africa Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk