Early partial results of the 26 October general elections in Tunisia have indicated that Beji Caid Essebsi’s Nidaa Tounes is leading in this second electoral test since the 2011 Constituent Assembly elections in which Ennahdha enjoyed a landslide victory by 90 of the CA seats. The early results unveiled Monday show that Ennahdha has retained around 70 seats. This means that the movement’s doctrinal base has remained loyal. The seats Ennahdha seems to have lost are those it attracted in 2011 from outside its stronghold and ideological base. Many, especially among the revolutionary youth, did not swallow Ennahdah’s decision of not imposing the vetting law when it was in power. For these revolutionary youth Ennahdha is responsible for the return of the ancien regime since last January. For them Ennahdha had to be punished and they did so in the ballot box. Nevertheless, partial results show that the southern constituencies have voted mostly in strong support to Ennahdha, with Nida Touness finishing second or third with a very large gap. This was the case in Tataouine, Kebilli, Touzer, Mednine, and Qabes. Whatever the final tally, Ennahdha would remain a significant bloc within the new parliament. Beji Essebsi has announced that Nidaa Tounes would “rule with those closest to it”, while Ghanoushi has called for a national unity government in order to face up to the economic challenges of Tunisia. Beyond the coalition building calculations of Nidaa Tounes ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in late November, keen observers of Tunisian affairs tend to caution against the hasty coverage in the mainstream media, which tended to dismiss Ennahdha’s performance as being a defeat.
http://www.isie.tn/index.php/fr/resultats-partielles-pour-les-elections-legislatives.html
