Tunisians voted on Sunday in parliamentary elections that bring full democracy finally within their reach, four years after their uprising cast out autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
Tunisia has fared better than its neighbours who also ousted their own long-ruling leaders during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, largely avoiding the polarisation between competing desires for Islamist and more secular rule.
Where the role of Islam in politics dominated the first election in 2011, now jobs, economic opportunities and Tunisia’s low-intensity conflict with Islamist militants are the main concerns of a country heavily reliant on foreign tourism.
The moderate Islamist party Ennahda and rival secular alliance Nidaa Tounes are favoured to win most seats in Sunday’s vote, only the second free election in Tunisia since Ben Ali fled into exile in Saudi Arabia.
But the large number of other parties, from conservative Islamist Salafist movements to Socialists, means a coalition government is the probable outcome. The 217-member assembly will choose a new prime minister.
“I always felt bad when I saw other countries freely voting and we couldn’t. Now we have the chance and the freedom to do so and I hope we get complete democracy and liberty,” said Wahid Zamely, 57, first in line to vote in the well-off Soukra neighbourhood in Tunis.
Ennahda won most seats in the first election in 2011 and led a coalition before a crisis over their rule and the murder of two secular leaders forced them into a deal to step aside for a caretaker premier.
Criticised for economic mismanagement and lax handling of hardline Islamists, Ennahda leaders say they have learned from their mistakes in the early years after the revolution.
But Nidaa Tounes, which includes some former members of the Ben Ali regime, see themselves as modern technocrats able to manage the economic and security challenges after the messy period of Islamist-led rule.
At a polling station in the working-class Ben Arous neighbourhood in southern Tunis on Sunday morning one voter said the only party he trusted was Ennahda.
“I don’t have any confidence in the other parties. They were all from the time of Ben Ali. Ennahda were always working over the last three years after the revolution,” said Mohamed Ali Ayad, an employee of a carmaker.
JOBS AND GROWTH
Among those secular parties looking for a place in the new assembly are some led by former Ben Ali officials, who portray themselves as technocrats untainted by the corruption and abuses of his regime.
Their return reflects the kind of compromise and consensus that has helped Tunisia avoid confrontations seen in Libya and Egypt where disagreements over the role of Islamists and former regime officials have erupted into violence.
That compromise and a proportional electoral system mean the two main players will seek deals with minor partners to form a majority in parliament and have a stronger say in forming the new government.
“In this context, the two biggest parties — Ennahda and Nidaa Tounes — will probably set aside their ideological differences and work together to form a national unity government,” Riccardo Fabiani at Eurasia Group said.
New government will need to foster growth and jobs for the many Tunisians who feel left out of any economic benefits from the revolution. But they will also need to take on the tough austerity measures to cut public subsidies.
Tunisia expects economic growth of between 2.3 and 2.5 per cent this year, but needs to continue slashing subsidies to trim the budget deficit and impose new taxes, the kind of reforms asked for by international lenders.
Just as urgent is tackling the threat of hardline Islamist militants who have grown in influence after the fall of Ben Ali, including the extremist group Ansar al-Sharia, which is branded a terrorist group by Washington.
Tunisian authorities had said militants would seek to disrupt the elections. On Friday, Tunisian forces killed six people, including five women, after a stand-off with an Islamist militant group on the outskirts of Tunis.
Major parties in Tunisia’s parliamentary electionEnnahda
Originally founded in 1981 under the name of Islamic Tendency Movement by Rached Ghannouchi, who is still the party’s leader, Ennahda was subject to suppression under Ben Ali. Its leadership was exiled or jailed during the regime, including Ghannouchi who spent years in Britain. He returned to Tunisia after the revolution, and Ennahda became a legal party. The party won around 40 per cent of the seats in Tunisia’s first transition assembly in the 2011 election and formed a coalition government with two smaller secular parties. Ghannouchi’s party was criticised by opponents for its economic management and for its laxity with hardline Islamists. But Ghannouchi was also seen as a more flexible Islamist leader who was able to compromise with rivals and end the crisis.
Nidaa Tounes
Founded in 2012, mainly in reaction to the victory of Islamists after the revolution, Nidaa Tounes is an alliance that includes some former members of the Ben Ali regime, including party chieftain Beji Caid Essebsi. It is now the largest rival to Ennahda. Essebsi, 87, was a political figure in Tunisia since after the 1956 independence from France, a minister under Tunisia’s first President Habib Bourguiba, and a parliament speaker under Ben Ali. Nidaa Tounes presents itself as a modern movement best able to manage the problems of one of the Arab world’s most secular countries.
Popular Front
A coalition that includes dozens of smaller parties from the left-wing to nationalists as well as independent intellectuals. Founded in 2012, it presents itself as the third choice between Islamists and Nidaa Tounes. Its leader, Hamma Hammami, was also arrested by Bourguiba and Ben Ali, and is running as a presidential candidate. Two of its leaders Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi were assassinated by Islamist militants in 2013, triggering a political crisis that forced Ennahda-led government to step down.
Republican Party
Formerly known as the Progressive Democratic Party or PDP, it changed its name after the revolution. Its leaders were among the most active in the 2011 uprising and were opponents of the Ben Ali regime. Its leader Ahmed Nejib Chebbi was a staunch foe of Ben Ali and was banned from running in 2009 elections during his regime. He participated in a national unity government in 2011.
Initiative Party
A new party created after the revolution, the Initiative movement is led by Ben Ali’s former Foreign and Defence Minister Kamel Morjane and is one of the three parties created by members of the old regime participating in the election. The party may do well in local areas where Morjane has influence. He was also a former diplomat in the United Nations. He says he apologised for his role in the Ben Ali regime, and believes his technocrat experience can be used to help Tunisia.
Congress for the Republic or CPR party
A secular, centre-left party created in 2011 by Moncef Marzouki, the current president of Tunisia. He was a human rights activist from 1989 to 1994, and a longtime opponent of Ben Ali. He was arrested several times under the former regime and sought exile in France for ten years before returning after the uprising. The CPR presents itself as a revolutionary party and opposes the return of former Ben Ali figures.
Ettakatol
A small Social-Democrat party founded in 1994 by medical doctor Mustapha Ben Jaafar. He was the head of the Tunisia assembly after the first election following the 2011 revolt, and Ettakatol were part of the coalition government led by Ennahda before they stepped down.
