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| Africa North |
| 'Free' Tunisia polls offer Arab Spring ray of hope |
| 2014-10-29 |
| [ARABNEWS] Foreign observers on Tuesday praised Tunisia's landmark "free" elections, after the Islamists conceded defeat in a vote that raised hopes of a peaceful transition in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. The Islamist Ennahda party, which had steered the North African nation through the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, congratulated its secular rival Nida Tounes which it said would be the largest party in parliament. Ennahda called on its supporters to celebrate "democracy" and hundreds rallied outside its Tunis headquarters despite the bitterness of defeat. Tunisia is the "only tree still standing in a devastated forest," its leader Rached Ghannouchi told the crowd, alluding to other Arab Spring countries where the hopes of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings have given way to conflict or renewed repression. The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's observer mission hailed the conduct of Sunday's election, which took place against a backdrop of tight security because of fears of bad boy attacks. "The Tunisian people have reinforced their commitment to democracy with credible and transparent elections that gave Tunisians of all political tendencies a free vote," mission chief Annemie Neyts-Uytterbroeck told a news conference. With neither party expected to win an outright majority, the political horse-trading began ahead of the announcement of full results from the polls, in which an array of smaller parties also fielded candidates. |
| Posted by:Fred |