Tunisia's President Saied urged to resign after lowest turnout ever

The Tunisian electoral authority announced on Sunday that turnout for Saturday's parliamentary elections stood at only 8,8%.

Despite the low turnout, the lowest in any poll since the revolution in 2011, the president of the electoral authority described the process as clean due to the lack political financing and vote buying.

"From my point of view the reason is clear. It is a change in the system of polling and the lack of political funding for electoral campaigns. Because for the first time, and we say it taking our responsibilities, for the first time there have been clean elections and a clean electoral campaign, free from political funding that was the reason behind buying votes - let us be clear and frank - so for the first time the Tunisian elections were pure", said Farouk Bouasker, president of Tunisia's ISIE electoral commission.

Opposition groups boycotted the election, describing it as part of a "coup" against democracy.

The main opposition alliance called on the president to bring all political forces together for consultations.

"It (electoral commission, Ed.) says the turnout is 8.8%. We say it is an earthquake of 8.8 on the Richter scale. We ask those who run (the country) illegally and without any legitimacy to leave", demanded National Salvation Front leader, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi.

The election took place almost a year and a half after Saied deployed military vehicles to suspend parliament, following months of political deadlock.

In July, President Saied used a referendum to push through a new constitution virtually stripping parliament of any real power. 

Preliminary results are expected Monday.