Tunisia - the only country to see true regime change through the Arab Spring revolutions - are currently in the midst of their elections. This article from Al Jazeera analyses the current, preliminary results of the elections. These results are not final, but currently show that the Islamist party Ennahda won the election, but have failed to achieve a majority. Negotiations will occur in the coming weeks, however Ennahda and the opposition party Qalb Tounes both refuse to form a coalition, so negotiations are expected to be difficult and lengthy.
It is interesting to see the status of Tunisian politics following their shift to democracy. There are still many elements that point to unfair elections, such as the fact that the opposition leader was in jail for the majority of the campaigning period, and had to hold proxy campaigns via his wife. Events such as this would not occur in a fully democratic country. However, democracy is not an instant thing, and it will take time for Tunisia to establish what their politics should look like in years to come. As Tunisia is still establishing itself following the Arab Spring, effective governance is crucial to kick-start progress.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/tunisia-election-preliminary-results-show-ennahda-lead-191010054629881.html
I agree–it'll be fascinating to see how Tunisian politics evolve from this point onward in their new era of at least semi-democracy. I also think it'll be very interesting to see the effect of Tunisia's transformation on other post-Arab Spring states, especially those in North Africa, (Libya and Egypt). I wonder if having a budding democracy in the region might have an effect on collective ideas about democratic reforms in the middle east, and also about how Tunisia's relationship both with the west and with authoritarian regimes in the middle east might change, as they could become a pivotal player in the politics of the region.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this link, Grace!
ReplyDelete