TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party appeared to win elections for an assembly to draft a constitution Monday, a sign of religion’s growing influence over politics in the country that inspired uprisings across the Arab world.
The apparent victory by Nahda is certain to resonate throughout the region, especially in Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood is expected to post a strong showing in parliamentary elections next month. Nahda’s ascent from banned organization to popular force indicates that an emerging political Islam may replace decades of rule by secular autocrats.
That prospect indicates much of the Middle East and North Africa regard Islam and politics as indivisible, a dynamic that has upset liberals in battles over civil rights and what styles of governments will rise from the so-called Arab Spring. Nahda has consistently promised that it is committed to pluralism and tolerance, but its opponents claim it masks a more conservative agenda.
Preliminary results reported by a radio station suggest Nahda won at least 30 percent of the 217 seats in the constituent assembly in elections held Sunday. Party officials said Nahda was ahead in most regions and could win more than 40 percent of the seats in the body, which will frame the nation’s laws.
Workers at the state media center said ballots were still being counted and that official results were expected today.
Nahda’s apparent victory comes after years of suppression and the exile of its leader, Rachid Ghannouchi. The party was revived when Tunisians toppled President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and sparked revolutions across the region.
Tunisia has moved more quickly toward democracy than much of the Arab world, including Egypt, where the military is in control, and Syria, where security forces have killed thousands of anti-government protesters.
“A win by Nahda recognizes the Arab-Muslim identity of Tunisia,” said Souhaben Hamouda, a political-science major at the University of Juridical and Social Sciences. “But the party is promoting a moderate Islam. I don’t think it will backtrack on women’s rights and other freedoms.
