Tunisia Embraces Democracy with First Free Election

By: Megan Gosch
Tunisia's election Tuesday will serve as an example and test-run for newly liberated countries that have begun political reconstruction since the start of the Arab Spring.
Tunisia held its first free and fair elections since the overthrowing of former leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. The election was won by the Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda.
Ennahda appealed to Tunisians with a desire to return to traditional Islamic values, social and economic justice, and women's rights, reported the Washingtion Post.
Tunisia's election and selection of a liberal group is watched closely by liberals in Egypt and Libya, who have also recently faced political uprising and have removed previous oppressive leaders, reported the New York Times.
Tunisia's election marks a great change in all that will result from the unrest of the Arab Spring.
"This is a new phase, a birth of a new era for all the nations of the Arab world," said Essam el-Erian of the Freedom and Justice Party.