Anti-Islamist Party Wins Tunisia Election

A liberal party with ties to the deposed regime has taken the most seats in Tunisia's parliamentary elections, leaving the once-dominant Islamists running a close second. The Nida Tunis—"Tunisia Calls"—party, running on an explicitly anti-Islamist platform, took 85 of the 217 seats in the Tunisian Parliament, giving it the right to lead a coalition government.

The moderate Islamist Ennahda Party won 69 seats, or nearly 32%, of the new Parliament, representing a loss of some 23 seats, according to the election commission. Since overthrowing its dictator in 2011 and kicking off the Arab Spring pro-democracy wave, Tunisia has been buffeted by turmoil. Analysts say voters in Sunday's election punished the Islamists for their uneven record and chose a party with figures from the past regime. (More Ennahda stories.)