Tunisia Islamic Ennahda takes lead

Tunisia’s once-banned Islamic Ennahda Party takes the lead in the country’s first ever free elections, partial election results show.

The Tunisian electoral commission said on Tuesday that the Ennahda Party has won 18 out of 44 domestic seats so far in a 217-member Constituent Assembly, AP reported

Ennahda now totally has 27 out of 62 seats — over 43 percent — with those Tunisians living abroad.

Another popular party, the Congress for the Republic, is a distant second with just 10 seats.

On Sunday, Tunisians voted for a 217-member assembly from among more than 11,000 candidates.

The elected assembly is to rewrite the constitution after two decades under former ruler Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali, who was toppled in a popular revolution in January.

Self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, who was an unemployed man frustrated with poverty, on December 17, 2010 sparked mass protests, which finally caused a popular revolution in Tunisia.

The Tunisian revolution brought about the Islamic Awakening and led to political change in Egypt and Libya.

The final results from Tunisia’s elections could boost other Islamic parties running in elections in North Africa and the Middle East.