A simulation vote in Tunisia in preparation for the 2011 election (European Parliament/flickr)
Many months after a man in Tunisia set himself on fire to protest his country's lack of a viable democratic government, some 90 percent of eligible voters in the country cast their votes on Sunday. Over 4.1 million people cast their ballots in the first democratic election from the nation that ignited the Arab Spring. Early signs show that the once banned Islamist Ennahda party is leading, possibly indicating a shift for the secular nation.
Namia Nour moved to the U.S. from Tunisia 14 years ago and is the founder of Tunisian Cultural and Information Center USA. She voted by absentee ballot, and talks about the experience.
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The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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Comments [3]
Salam,
This lady is an embarrassment to Tunisians. Didn't she learn anything from the democratic process in the US?
She does not like the Islamists.. fair enough. However, if that's what the people want, then just get over it.
It's too easy to invent lies and fabrications about the islamists when you're in a cozy leather sofa with a view on San Francisco Bay Area, 10000 Km away from Tunis. The ones who have suffered from dictatorship, deprivation and torture have chosen the islamists.. what's wrong with that?
Sounds like this guest is throwing some sobering cold water on the triumphant and giddy declarations of "democracy" by warning of "disaster". She urges Tunisians to "fight for it" and a "revolution of women" (chortle) from her adopted home in the United States?
Congratulations to Tunisia! You managed to take the Libyan civil war and killing of Ghadafi off the headlines for about two seconds. A welcomed break for me.
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