- Title: Exit poll shows Islamist Ennahda party first in Tunisia election
- Date: 6th October 2019
- Summary: ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEADER OF ENNAHDA, RACHED GHANNOUCHI, SAYING: "Truth be told, victory was not easy. We did not win 99 percent of the vote, we won 20 percent of the vote, and we understand that there are those who oppose us, whom we respect. Having organised opposing parties is a part of democracy, and the absence of this is the absence of democracy. Having said this, we (Ennahda) are not happy that Nabil Karoui remains in jail, and if it was up to us we would pray that he wasn't in jail."
- Embargoed: 20th October 2019 23:41
- Keywords: Ennahda party Heart of Tunisia party Nabil Karoui Tunisia parliamentary election election winner
- Location: TUNIS, TUNISIA
- City: TUNIS, TUNISIA
- Country: Tunisia
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA004AZYLT1J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Tunisia's moderate Islamist Ennahda party gained most votes in Sunday's (October 6) parliamentary election, an exit poll by Sigma Conseil broadcast by state television showed.
The poll showed Ennahda with 17.5% of the vote and its main rival, the Heart of Tunisia party of detained media mogul Nabil Karoui with 15.6% of the vote.
Both Ennahda and Heart of Tunisia had earlier claimed victory in the election. Both have ruled out working in any coalition that contains the other
Ennahda's projected vote share translates into only about 40 seats, with 109 needed to form a majority. It also represents a sharp slump in its support since the last election in 2014, when it gained 27.8% of the votes and 69 seats.
With these results, Tunisia's parliament looks deeply fractured, meaning the coming period of government formation will likely prove long and hard.
Any government that does emerge will face the same challenges that have bedeviled its predecessors: high unemployment, inflation and public debt, a powerful union that resists change and foreign lenders who demand it.
The parliamentary divisions add to an already febrile political climate after voters last month sent an independent and a media mogul detained on corruption charges through to next week's second round runoff of a separate presidential election.
If confirmed, the result would leave Ennahda, a member of several coalitions since the revolution, needing to join with numerous rivals and independent members of parliament to gain a working majority.
If it cannot do so within two months, the president can ask another party to try. If it also fails and the deadlock persists, there will be another election.
(Production: Sayed Sheasha, Muhammed Abughaneya, Seham Eloraby) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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