On October 23 2011, voters went to the polls to elect 189 members of the Majlis al Nuwaab (Chamber of Deputies) for five-year terms. Elections were not due until 2014, but were called early when President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali dissolved Parliament on January 14 following weeks of protests and rioting over corruption and unemployment.
More than sixty political parties and thousands of independent candidates competed for 217 seats in a new Constitutional Assembly. During the days of the first free elections of the country, more than 90% of registered voters have turned out to cast their ballot.
The final results confirm the victory of the Islamist party Ennahda, banned for decades under deposed president Ben Ali, it will hold just over 40% of the seats in the Assembly.