Tunisia has seen a high turnout in its first constitutionally backed election since the 2011 uprising, with polling stations reporting large crowds and long queues early in the day.

An estimated 60 per cent of the 5.2 million registered voters cast a ballot. The country’s total population is 10.9 milllion.

“The spotlight is on us and the success of this [vote] is a guarantee for the future,” Mehdi Jomaa, acting Prime Minister said as he voted.

Opinion polls had projected a decline in popular participation in the election, which is set to vote in a 217-member legislature.

Polls opened at 7am local time on Sunday and closed at 6pm. More than 4,500 polling booths were set up across the country.

More than 100 political parties are participating in the elections, but the vote is expected to be dominated by the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, and its secular rival Nidaa Tunis.

Analysts expect neither Ennahda nor Nidaa Tunis to win a majority vote.