Tunisia’s Islamists, beaten into second place in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, say they would be willing to take part in a national unity government in the interests of stability.<br /><br />The moderate Ennahda party conceded defeat on Monday and congratulated its secular rival.<br /><br />The Nidaa Tounes party came out top but will need to negotiate a power-sharing deal. <br /><br />The former Ennahda prime minister Ali Larayedh, himself re-elected as an MP, told supporters: “We will keep working and we are still one of the biggest parties, and we are still the best guarantee for democracy and freedom.”<br /><br />With official results still awaited, no party has secured an overall majority. Ennahda lags around 10 seats behind the secular party. It is expected to win around 65-70 seats in the 217-seat parliament, compared to about 80 for Nidaa Tounes.<br /><br />“We congratulate the Nidaa Tounes party for results we’ve heard about so far. Its work has borne fruit,” said Ennahda supporter Sherazade Ben Farhat.<br /><br />Nidaa Tounes under its leader Béji Caïd Essebsi emerged as a political force in 2012 by rallying opposition to the Islamists.<br /><br />The 87-year-old is a former parliamentary speaker under the deposed dictator Ben Ali and the election result is likely to see the return to government of some figures from the old regime.<br /><br />Since the 2011 “Arab Spring” revolt, Tunisia has fared better than its neighbours and has been praised for a relatively successful transition to democracy.
