Tunisian voter turnout was high and expected to give an Islamist party the greatest say in drafting the new Constitution there.
Turkey experienced a 7.2 earthquake that killed hundreds in the Kurdish area near the Iranian border.
Three European aid workers were kidnapped in Al-Qaeda wracked West Algeria.
Diplomatic sources said Sunday the abductions happened in the Rabuni encampment in the Algerian province of Tindouf, an area inhabited by refugees from Western Sahara, a disputed Moroccan-controlled territory.
Media reports say one of the three abductees may be injured.
There is no immediate word on the identity of the kidnappers, or any indication of a ransom demand, but the area is known for Al-Qaeda activity.
A strong earthquake has hit southeastern Turkey near the border with Iran. There are initial reports of damages and casualties, but no firm figures.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 7.2 quake struck Sunday in Van province at a depth of 20 kilometers. Turkey's Kandilli Observatory recorded the quake's magnitude at 6.6.
Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency is reporting collapsed buildings in the city of Van and says several aftershocks have been recorded. The agency said at least 50 people have been injured.
Television footage showed collapsed buildings and crushed vehicles in the city and scores of people with shovels and pry bars clawing through wreckage for survivors. The mayor of nearby Ercis issued a call for urgent aid, saying “there are so many dead.”
Major geological fault lines cross the region and small earthquakes are a near daily occurrence.
Tunisia has held its first democratic elections, since a revolution that sparked the Arab Spring uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East.
Tunisians turned out to vote in huge numbers Sunday, expressing excitement and pride at the chance to choose among multiple political parties for the first time since independence in 1956.
The electoral commission said nearly 70 percent of Tunisia's 4.4-million voters had already cast their ballots several hours before the polls closed.
More than 100 parties fielded candidates in the elections. In previous votes, only ruling party candidates were allowed to run.
This was the first vote of the Arab Spring, a little more than nine months after Tunisians overthrew longtime President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
Voters were electing a 217-seat Constituent Assembly that will have the tasks of naming an interim government and drawing up a new constitution for the North African country.
Results are expected Monday or Tuesday.
Observers predict the Islamist party Ennahdha will win the biggest share of the vote, but will not capture a majority. The party is already in talks to form coalitions.
VoA