Islamist party sweeps Tunisian election

Kamel Jendoubi gives a press conference to announce the final election results in Tunis A Tunisian Islamist party emerged victorious in the Arab Spring's first elections, taking 41.47 percent of votes cast nine months after ousting dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, results showed Thursday .
The Ennahda party obtained 90 seats in a new 217-member assembly that will rewrite the constitution, appoint a president and form a caretaker government, elections chief Kamel Jendoubi told journalists in Tunis.
The provisional results put two leftist parties in second and third place after Sunday's historic polls: the leftist Congress for the Republic (CPR) obtaining 13.82 percent of the vote, representing 30 seats, and Ettakatol 9.68 percent or 21 seats, he said.
Ennahda, banned under Ben Ali's regime and registered as a political party in March, had preempted its victory by announcing Wednesday it had started coalition negotiations and intended to form a new government within a month.
The party, which presents itself as having a moderate Islamist agenda, has put forward its number two, Haamdi Jebali, as its candidate for prime minister.
The new assembly will decide on the country's system of government and how to guarantee basic liberties, including women's rights, which many in Tunisia fear Ennahda would seek to diminish despite its assurances to the contrary.
Analysts have said that Ennahda, even in a majority alliance, would be unable to "dictate" any programme to the assembly -- having no choice but to appease its coalition partners, a moderate-minded society, and the international community on whose investment and tourism the country relies heavily.
Leftist parties may yet seek to form a majority bloc against Ennahda, which said it met bankers and stock brokers earlier Thursday to "reassure" them.
Tunisian voters turned out en masse Sunday to elect the new assembly.
The electoral system was designed to include as many parties as possible in drafting the new constitution, expected to take a year, ahead of fresh national polls.
Coalition negotiations are expected to be complicated, with all of Ennahda's potential partners on the leftist, secular side of the political spectrum.
But Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi has said a government would be put together as soon as possible, "within no more than a month."
Jebali on Wednesday signalled his intention to form an executive with the highest scoring leftist parties, singling out the CPR and Ettakatol.
At the same time Ettakatol chief Mustapha Ben Jaafar said coalition talks have started "with all the political partners, including Ennahda, and will continue pending the final results."
The CPR has defended its talks with the Islamist party.
"No, no, no it is not the devil and we do not make pacts with the devil," party leader Moncef Marzouki said on Wednesday.
"One must not take them for the Taliban of Tunisia. It is a moderate part of Islam."
The names of presidential candidates have started circulating in the media, including those of Marzouki, Ben Jafaar and current interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi.
The surprise of the election was the fourth position obtained by the Petition for Justice and Development -- a grouping backed by Hachmi Haamdi, a rich London-based businessman said to have close ties to Ben Ali.
This despite six of the grouping's candidates' lists being invalidated due to irregularities, notably concerning "financial irregularities".
Tunisian election results have been delayed for the third day, as counting had been delayed by technical glitches and the unexpectedly large number of voters who turned out for Sunday's elections for a new 217-member assembly that will rewrite the constitution and form a caretaker government.
Chairman of the Independent Higher Authority for Elections (IHAE) Kamel Jendoubi, said in a press conference on Wednesday that: “
The delay in proclaiming the election results is due to the ongoing manual vote counting and the lack of experience in matters of election.
Vote counting in constituencies of Greater Tunis is not yet over as this process is going on in several polling stations and has not even started in others.
Answering a question on the turn-out, Mr. Jendoubi said it is about 76% for voluntary registered voters and 15% for non-registered voters to whom specific polling stations were dedicated.
Mr. Jendoubi reasserted the IHAE's commitment to ensure that elections be transparent and neutral, adding that a report will be published on Thursday on infringements recorded in the election campaign, particularly during the election silence.
The report will also contain infringements related to expenditure and funding of election campaigns of parties and independent lists.
Data illustrated with figures and statistics on candidate parties and lists that have not won seats in the Constituent Assembly will be published soon, he also said.
Ennahdha Movement Secretary-General Hammadi Jebali announced that he will be his party's candidate to lead the next government, pointing out that, "in all democracies of the world, the Secretary-General of the party which wins the majority in the election holds the function of Prime Minister."
In a talk with Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) news, Mr. Jebali said that Ennahdha also had its candidate for the presidency, whose name it will submit the other partners represented in the National Constituent Assembly.
The Progressive Democratic Party, polled in second place before the election, came fifth with 17 seats.