TUNIS, Tunisia

A total of 1,429 candidates have applied to contest Tunisia's parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on Dec. 17, the country's election commission said.

Faroukh Bouasker, head of the Independent High Authority for Elections, said in a televised interview that the deadline for receiving applications from candidates ended on Thursday.

The representation of women candidates stands at 15%, he added.

After the vetting process, the final list of candidates will be announced on Nov. 2, he said.

This September Tunisian President Kais Saied amended the elections law so that voters choose individuals instead of the party.

Also, the seats in parliament were reduced to 161 from 217, with 10 seats representing ex-pat Tunisians.

The measures taken by Saied were strongly rejected by most of Tunisia's parties.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar