It has been 10 months since the former president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled my country, and the stage is now set for citizens to determine Tunisia's fate. This Sunday, a new generation of young Tunisians will experience a taste of democracy for the first time. The question is whether real change, or more of the same, awaits us.
"No one denies that our country is trying to overcome a sort of postrevolutionary instability," one prospective voter told me. But, "voting has complicated this rocky transition".
Part of the challenge has been sorting through the extraordinary number of choices. Over 100 new political parties were formed after the revolution, an overwhelming if thrilling landscape for Tunisians to navigate. Feelings of fear and uncertainty are rampant.
Indeed, many of us are tired of this massive number of political groups. As one friend noted, many of these parties are unknown. "Each day you walk down the street and are bombarded with flyers whose labels and mottos are unbelievably weird."
Candidates have adopted new ways to propagate their campaigns beyond traditional flyers and handouts. Some have rented fashionable cars, decorating them with the symbols of their party. Other candidates have relied on young people to hand out and post flyers. It is common for cars to be blaring the horns as people wave their party flag out of the window. Supporters have flocked to schools, malls and street corners to raise awareness.
And yet, only a few of these parties have significant public support. Beyond Ennahda and Congress for the Republic, the rest are untested.
This is quite an exciting time for my country - Tunisians are not used to being "free". But our exultation is mixed with the fear of the unknown. It is now up to us, the people, to determine the fate of our country and effect the entire Arab world. Indeed, new opportunity has revived old challenges, among them the unavoidable scare of Islamophobia.
During the last two weeks of campaigning for Constituent Assembly elections, many people have voiced deep anxiety over the weight of Islamist parties. These people are not optimistic that a secular government will emerge; they claim that Ennahda's "alleged" moderation is a cover for extremist views.
Women, in particular, fear polygamy will become common, and worry about losing their right to work. Islamist protests in recent days, including some that turned violent, have not helped.
Ennahda, for its part, claims loyalty to both democratic principles and Islam. "Ennahda espouses a mild form of Islam; I don't know why many people are worried about its weight," one party member told me. "All the values of democracy and modernity are respected. We are not extremists."
Polls show that it is the Islamist party, banned under Ben Ali's regime, that is leading. Yet other polls indicated that many Tunisians still believe that Islam should remain a private practice.
As Tunisians like myself prepare for our first election day, perhaps the biggest concern is what will not change. In truth, many people do not expect too much from this process. That is why many of my friends do not wish to see any political party having a majority in writing the constitution.
The biggest obstacle of all may be the lack of transparency in the process. This concern traces back to previous electoral fraud perpetrated by the former regime. "What the citizens sincerely hope for is no return of the famous 99 per cent of voices for one political party, which used to be incredibly odd and illogical," another voter said. "This time we are looking impatiently for honesty and trustworthiness."
Indeed, transparency will encourage civic participation. For that reason, a huge campaign called "I watch" has been created to monitor the elections. It calls on citizens to stay alert and observe the election rules closely so that manipulation and impropriety do not influence the vote.
Ten months after Ben Ali fled, Tunisians have an opportunity to show the Arab world what is possible. All we have to do now is take it.
Khawla Bouyahya is a student at the Universite de la Manouba in Tunisia