Early sign in Tunisia of strong Islamist vote (AP)

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Early sign in Tunisia of strong Islamist vote

Updated 2h 7m ago

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) – Tunisian authorities counted votes Monday in the first free election in the nation's history, with early signs that a once-banned Islamist party is leading in the country that unleashed uprisings across the Arab world.

Radio Mosaique FM posted results from polling stations around the country Monday, with many showing a commanding lead for the moderate Islamist party Ennahda. An Ennahda victory in a comparatively secular society like Tunisia could have wide implications for similar religious parties across North Africa.

Election commission head Kamel Jendoubi said official results would be released Tuesday afternoon.

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Voters were electing a 217-seat constituent assembly that will shape their fledgling democracy, choose a new government and write a new constitution that would pave the way for future elections.

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Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-10-24/tunisia-elections-islamist-vote/50888106/1

[dmallind]

1. As we all know in the US, a fervently religious majority results in theocrats being elected

We here are lucky that the fervently religious majority is concentrated in a subset of electoral districts, and that the body politic channels at least some of its religious fervor to a non-divine group of people who put together a quite surprisingly secular basis for government. But even here Bachmann and Perry et al are not only senior elected officials, but also taken seriously as potential heads of state. The majority in Tunisia is even larger - way larger - than our own religious majority, and despite internal schisms has a more consistent religio-political viewpoint than here. It would be a surprise if Islamist groups did NOT do well there.

[FarCenter]

2. The New York Times characterizes Ennahda Party differently

"In another first for the region, a moderate Islamic party, Ennahda, is expected to win at least a plurality of seats in the Tunisian assembly. The party’s leaders have vowed to create another kind of new model for the Arab world, one reconciling Islamic principles with Western-style democracy."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/world/africa/tunisians-cast-historic-votes-in-peace-and-hope.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2

[tabatha]

3. Thank you.

[FarCenter]

6. Your welcome -- there are reports that voter turnout is around 90%

So whoever wins has a mandate from the electorate.

[pampango]

4. Juan Cole: Ennahdha Party - A relatively moderate Islamist party that was banned in Tunisia...

These are the projected top four finishers in Tunisia’s election, based on polling data from Sigma Conseil, a Tunisian market research firm. The survey was done between Oct. 1 and 7, and it revealed considerable voter confusion in an election that features more than 110 parties vying for 217 assembly seats. Nearly half of the more than 2,000 Tunisians surveyed did not express a preference, according to Sigma Conseil.,

Ennahdha: A relatively moderate Islamist party that was banned in Tunisia under President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. The party — its name means “renaissance” — was oppressed and its members abused under Ben Ali. Ennahdha is the projected front-runner for the Constituent Assembly elections. The party, led by Rachid Ghannouchi, has expressed support for women’s rights.

Ettakkotol: Also called the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties, it is a center-left Tunisian party founded in 1994 and officially recognized in 2002. The party was considered an opposition party to Ben Ali’s Democratic Constitutional Rally party but was marginalized. Its founder and leader is Mustapha Ben Jafar, a radiologist who aspires to be Tunisia’s president.

Progressive Democratic Party: This secular, center-right party was founded in 1983 and was part of the legal but oppressed opposition under Ben Ali. The party has the backing of the business elite and is a direct competitor with Ettakkotol. Nejib Chebbi, the party founder, has served in Tunisia’s transitional government and has expressed a desire to lead the country.

Congress for the Republic: The centrist secular party was banned under Ben Ali and is led by the well-known Tunisian human rights activist Moncep Marzouki. After moving to Paris in 2002, he returned to Tunisia after Ben Ali’s ouster. Marzouki’s party is one of the few parties running candidates in every district. Marzouki has said he would like to run for president.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/top-contenders-in-tunisias-election/2011/10/21/gIQAgcaZ7L_story.html

[riderinthestorm]

5. While women will suffer, gays will suffer more under this. I hope most of them escape now before

they are legally persecuted or worse.