Nidaa Tounes confirmed winner of Tunisian elections

Nidaa Tounes has emerged as the largest party in the new Tunisian parliament, winning the most seats in the country's first parliamentary elections since the historic 2011 revolution, results released on Thursday confirm.

The secular party - led by figures associated with the regime of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali - beat the Islamist Ennahdha, winning a provisional 85 of the 217 parliamentary seats in Sunday's vote, the ISIE election body said. Ennahdha picked up 69 seats.

The next largest party, the Free Patriotic Union, won 16 seats.

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Nidaa Tounes have promised to improve the economy and security in the North African country, after a turbulent few years where food prices and unemployment have risen, along with militant activity.

Ennahdha, which dominated politics in the years since 2011, has received praise for the manner in which they conceded defeat. The party welcomed the results and urged its supporters to celebrate "democracy". Ennahdha supporters responded by rallying at the party headquarters in celebration at the result, and the continuation of Tunisia's democratic transition.

"We consider Tunisia has triumphed and that Ennahdha has triumphed by leading the country to this stage," said Abdelhamid Jelassi, the movement's national coordinator.

Now the political manoeuvring begins, with Ennahdha pushing for a coalition with Nidaa Tounes. Ennahdha led a coalition for two years with secular parties, until 2013, when power was handed to a technocratic government.

Nidaa Tounes, led by Beji Caid Essebsi, an 87-year old who was parliamentary speaker under Ben Ali, has signalled that they may choose not to share power with Ennahdha, and instead ally with smaller parties to seek enough seats to meet the 109 necessary for a majority in parliament.

Nidaa Tounes, an eclectic alliance which includes left-wing trade unionists and right-wing politicians from the old regime, has described working with the Islamists as "against their nature".

"We took the decision in advance that Nidaa Tounes would not govern alone, even if we won an absolute majority," Essebsi told Tunisian TV.

"We will govern with those closest to us, with the democratic family, so to speak," he said.

Attention now moves to the presidential elections, scheduled for November 23. Essebsi is a frontrunner, along with the current transitional president, Moncef Marzouki.