Tunisia releases constituent assembly election's final results

Tunisia's independent election commission (ISIE) has released the final results of the National Constituent Assembly elections which took place on Oct. 23, the official press agency TAP reported Monday. The results confirm main Islamist party Ennahdha's sweeping win suggested by the polls, gaining 89 seats in the 217-member body. Ennahdha is followed by two center-left parties, the Congress for the Republic and the Ettakatol, which respectively gather 29 and 20 seats in the Assembly. Both parties are expected to join Ennahdha in a ruling coalition. The newly elected Assembly will first meet on Nov. 22. At a press conference in Tunisia's capital of Tunis held on Monday, ISIE's chairman Kamel Jendoubi said that out of over 8 million potential voters, more than 4 million people cast their ballots, showing a participation rate of 52 percent in Tunisia, and 29.8 percent abroad. Jendoubi said that the election commission had "restored the trust of Tunisians in the electoral process," adding that it was important "to preserve this achievement" for upcoming elections.