Tunisia's Elections

Tunisia has held its first elections since former President Ben Ali fled the country on January 14th, 2011. Tunisia has been the leader and set an example for all other states affected by the Arab Spring by being the first to oust their autocratic leader and now the first to hold elections. This article from BBC News reports on the elections, which were fair and peaceful, and preliminary results.

Although official results will not be released until tomorrow, the Ennahdha party is claiming victory and their closest rival, the PDP party, have acknowledged them. Ennahdha, a moderate Islamist group with connections to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, was founded during President Bourguiba's rule but banned from political activity under Ben Ali. Ben Ali's regime was extremely secular (to the point of preventing women from wearing the headscarf and arresting people who prayed too often), and often falsely accused Ennahdha for acts of violence and terrorism. In reality, Ennahdha is fairly moderate, advocating for an altered system of Sharia law which protects human rights (including women's rights), permits all political parties to participate in government (including parties representing other religions), and reflects the desires of the people.

Whatever your feelings toward Islamism, Ennahdha is the most established and well-organized political party in Tunisia (over 100 participated in the election) and therefore offers some stability for the new government. The BBC article predicts Ennahdha will win the biggest share of votes but will still fall short of a majority in the assembly, which will have 217 seats. The assembly will draft a constitution and appoint a new president, who will approve the new government.

There are many reasons for optimism here, but there are also many questions to ask. As the article points out, although over 90% of the 4.1 million registered voters voted, 3.1 million people who were eligible to vote never registered. Why not? Also, if Ennahdha wins the biggest share of votes but not the majority, what implications does that have for the assembly and its duties? Will Ennahdha have to compromise, and if so will they be willing to?