Welcome to the Guardian's coverage of the elections in Tunisia - the first free elections in the region since the Arab spring, and the first-ever free elections in Tunisia. It was here that the uprisings began, with the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi on 17 December last year. Twenty-eight days later the dictator Ben Ali had fled - but what has become of the country since?
For a week, leading up to Sunday's election and beyond, we will be finding out. Whatever happened to the democratic ideals of the Facebook generation? What is at stake in this election? Can the structures of the former regime ever really be dismantled? Is a potential Islamist victory something to fear? What has happened to Tunisia's prized position on women? What foreign influences are at play, and how openly? What are the bloggers saying, and the press?
The Guardian team will be answering these questions with top-quality reporting, film, live blogging, commentary, data, Tumblr and Twitter. But we can't do it without you, so please contact us - comment on articles or the blog, email us at tunisia.election@guardian.co.uk, follow our Twitter list on the hashtag #tnelec or tweet me at @KathViner. Much of this coverage will appear in Arabic as well as English, and you can comment in both languages. Please let us know what works and what does not.
