This House believes that in the recent election, Islamists have won a dangerously large majority

Despite their pride in Tunisia’s first free elections in October, a small margin of the audience members at the New Arab Debates in Tunis on 22nd November 2011 feel that the Islamists have won a dangerously large majority.

Arguing against the motion, Yusra Ghannouchi of the Ennahda Party – which won 40 percent of the vote – assured audience members that the party had no interest in dominating the political scene as they work toward a new constitution for Tunisia. “Tunisia needs all its sons and daughters to work together”.

Moderator Tim Sebastian challenged this statement, reminding Ghannouchi that a party member recently came out saying that single mothers are “a disgrace” and pointing to the fact that Tunisia’s Head of Human Rights League has reported signs of Islamic Radicalism, including punishment for Apostasy and forced veilings throughout the country. Sebastian suggested that Ennahda had “one message for the media and one for the mosque”.

Sana Ouechtati of the Observatory for Democratic Change echoed these concerns, but took things one step further – suggesting that the focus on Islamist identity was taking away from the issues that really matter to Tunisians. “We are in need of urgent measures for people who have suffered for the revolution. They are bringing up identity issues that are not the problem of Tunisia, nor have they ever been”.

Ouechtati also suggested that Ennahda might not be as committed to political inclusivity as avowed and that, “when you have three different parties with different systems trying to build a common way” views of the parties with fewer portfolios were in danger.

Ghannouchi, who is the daughter of the party leader and spent most of her youth living in political exile in the UK, cut this idea off at the pass, retorting that this was the whole point of democracy. “It is the essence of democracy to accept the peaceful alternation of power, to accept the will of the people, to accept the outcome of free and fair elections. [Democracy can’t be] for certain people who look like me and think like me. Otherwise, democracy is in danger”.

Despite her passionate rebuttal, the audience failed to be totally swayed. One student asked bluntly, “You have the power, why not use it?” And while Ghannouchi praised his scepticism and attempted to assure him that Ennadha would create a system in which no one could make promises and go on to break them (causing Sebastian to quip “You’d be the first political movement in history to do that!”) the audience voted 53 percent For, and 47 percent Against the motion ‘This House believes that in the recent election, Islamists have won a dangerously large majority’.