The Arab world will be watching as Tunisia conducts what is being billed as its first free and fair presidential election. As the incumbent president Moncef Marzouki put it, the rest of the Middle East and North Africa region is looking to Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, to prove that an Arab country is "capable of democracy".
It has been a remarkable ride for Tunisia in the nearly four years since vegetable vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight in protest at local corruption, sparking riots that led to the overthrow of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime. In the interim, the Islamist Ennahda group formed a government through general elections, but volunteered to relinquish power when it became clear that it no longer had the support of the majority of the people.
Mr Marzouki is one of the contenders in the presidential election, but some observers feel that voters may seek to punish him because his Congress for the Republic party was once in coalition with Ennahda, which has not endorsed a candidate. The candidate deemed most likely to win – either by gaining a clear majority today or in a run-off to be held next month – is 87-year-old prime minister Beji Caid Essebsi, whose secular-leaning Nidaa Tounes party won the most seats in last month’s parliamentary election. However, there are concerns about his age and also his previous connections to the Ben Ali government. Whatever the outcome of the poll, it is clear that Tunisia needs effective governance to fully complete its transition to democracy. It needs a government that can tackle its manifest problems, including institutionalised corruption, a huge black economy fuelled by petrol smuggling, and unemployment, which is as high as 34 per cent among the young.
Encouragingly, the rhetoric from the major candidates has been positive, with talk of compromise and consensus-building once in office. One of the first priorities for the new president will be to deal with a parliament that comprises members of 15 parties, plus three independents. The complex coalition required to pass legislation has not yet been formed. The new president will need to recruit capable ministers from across the political spectrum, and commit to inclusiveness in rebuilding national institutions and restoring public faith in the political process.Tunisia has come too far for its fledgling democracy to falter now.
