Activists from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia observed Poland’s parliamentary election on Sunday to gain firsthand experience about how to hold the first democratic votes in their countries in decades.
Rania Mbarki, one of five election officials from Tunisia, emerged optimistic about her nation after visiting two polling stations in Warsaw.
“I want our election to show the will of the people, whatever it is,” she said, adding that voter registration is high in her region of Tunisia. “This is the birth of a new, democratic process and we are expecting this new arrival with a lot of patience and a lot of optimism.”
Tunisia sparked the wider democracy movement now known as the Arab Spring when citizens took to the streets in January to protest their authoritarian government.
Tunisia was the first Arab Spring country to successfully overthrow its longtime leader, former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and will also be the first to hold free elections to emerge from the movement, with voters set to cast ballots on Oct. 23.
The Egyptians traveled to the western city of Plock to watch Poland’s parliamentary election on Sunday. The Libyans watched the voting in Radom, south of Warsaw.
Poland, which now holds the EU presidency, invited the visitors to support their efforts in holding their own free and fair elections.
Egypt plans to hold its national ballot on Nov. 28.
No elections are scheduled in Libya yet, where ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi remains in hiding.
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