Tunisia poll shows split parliament

Bloomberg

Tunisia counted votes from the parliamentary elections, as an exit poll suggested a moderate radical party will get the most ballots while falling short of the majority needed to form a government.
Polling by local firm Sigma Conseil showed Ennahda winning with 17.5% of votes, with Heart of Tunisia — the party of jailed TV mogul Nabil Karoui — in second place with 15.6%. While the split was expected, it will likely mean a prolonged period of horse-trading to form a ruling coalition in the North African country that’s already endured years of bickering and compromises.
Tunisia, which kicked off the Arab Spring in 2011 with mass protests that ousted then-leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, is the only country to have emerged from the maelstrom with a viable democracy.
Yet many of the 11.5 million population accuse the government of failing to improve their lives, as political infighting and sporadic militant attacks have sapped the economy.
Under Sigma’s figures, Ennahda would get 40 seats in Tunisia’s 217-member assembly, Heart of Tunisia 33 and Nidaa Tounes, formerly the main centrist option, just one. Tahya Tounes — which is led by PM Youssef Chahed — may win 16 seats, according to the poll.
The official results are due by October 10. Once finalised on November 13, the party with the most seats will have two months to form a government.
Ennahda, which has held various posts in Tunisia’s government before, said it had secured “an indisputable win” and would pursue a “policy of partnership with other parties on the basis of a fight against poverty and combating corruption.”
The Dignity Coalition, which Sigma’s poll showed could win 18 seats, signalled it was open to an alliance with Ennahda, but not Heart of Tunisia. The Democratic Current, said it wouldn’t work with either of the two leading parties.