Editorial
Historic Tunisian elections
Democratic elections after the Jasmine Revolution
Although official election results are yet to be announced, Tunisia's moderate Islamist party Ennahda claims a victory of more than 40% of the seats. Ennahda was banned under the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's ousted leader. It was not instrumental in January's Jasmine Revolution, but it is viewed as a significant party to have put up the most resistance to Ben Ali's rule for years before that. This was the first free election in Tunisian history since it gained its independence in 1956.
There is a possibility of a coalition between three parties, Ennahda, CPR and Ettakol. The Tunisian people clearly desire centrist politics; they desire to preserve their Arab-Muslim identity through Ennahda and democracy and human rights represented by the other two parties.
The rise of a party so closely identified with Islam did alarm the secularist stripe in Tunisia as their country has always been a modernist and westernised one. However, the majority of Tunisians have demonstrated clearly that they want a clean break from the past.
Tunisia has always maintained a very high regard for women and women's rights. It is the country with the highest rate of literacy for women in North Africa, women outnumbering men among university graduates. Tunisian women are the first among Arab women to get the right to vote and hold very significant political power. Ennahda has been re-assuring to Tunisian women that their rights would be preserved.
Tunisia was the pioneer in beginning the Arab Spring movement. Now it is the first country to hold democratic elections as a result of it. It is our sincere hope that the people of Tunisia have a prosperous and peaceful future ahead of them.
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