Tunisia Elections: Secular Party Nidaa Tounes Wins over Extremist Ennahda Movement
Local Editor
Tunisia's Ennahda party, the first extremist movement to secure power after the 2011 uprising, has conceded defeat in elections that are expected to make its main secular rival the strongest force in parliament.
Secular Party Nidaa Tounes Wins over Extremist Ennahda Movement
Ennahda official Lotfi Zitoun said that the extremists, who dominated previous elections, accepted the result and congratulated the winning party. "We are calling once again for the formation of a unity government in the interest of the country," he said.
Zitoun said the party reiterated its call for a unity government, including Ennahda, in the interest of the country.
Earlier, an Ennahda source said preliminary tallies showed Nidaa Tounes had won 80 seats in the 217-member assembly, ahead of 67 secured by Ennahda. The Nidaa Tounes leader, Beji Caid Essebsi, had already said on Sunday night that there were "positive indications" his party was ahead.
Meanwhile, the election in which 60 percent of Tunisia's 5.2 million registered voters participated, will produce the nation's first five-year parliament following the country's 2011 uprising against former dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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