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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Tunisia's Elections

In an interview in Deutsche Welle with human rights advocate Sihem Bensedrine on the Tunisian elections, Tunisia's "Iron Lady of the Tunisian Opposition" comments on the victory of the (admittedly moderate) Islamist  party Ennahda in the Arab Spring's first free election, saying "Tunisians have spoken and we must all respect that."  I agree with her, but I have to admit that the Ennahda victory makes me uneasy.  http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15488046,00.html 

Ennahda means "Renaissance" in Arabic. I hope that the party maintains the open mind of the European Renaissance. In any case, I trust Bensedrine who was herself a former political prisoner of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali dictatorship. As she points out, Ennahda won just over 30% of the vote, not an outright majority. She goes on to argue that to ignore Ennahda's win would be to ignore the rule of democracy. That too is true, even if the choice of the people is disappointing from other people's perspective, it is indeed the voice of the people. Finally, Bensedrine goes on to say "If, as winners, Ennahda do not keep their promises and pledges - if they don't respect the rule of law, human rights and our hard-won democracy - then the people who brought them to power can topple them in the next elections." As one of the strongest voices in bringing down the ben Ali dictatorship, Bensedrine is someone whose position I respect. For now, then, her view will be my view on this subject.

What are your thoughts?

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