LEADIN: Early results from Tunisia's historic parliamentary elections show the main opposition Nida Tunis (Tunisia's Call) party is set to win. Already business leaders and experts are expressing confidence that the new government will help improve the dire economic situation in the country. STORYLINE: Tunisia's well-organised Islamists have been defeated in parliamentary elections, as voters seek security and economic stability with familiar faces from Tunisia's more authoritarian past. Results from the official election commission are just beginning to trickle in, but exit polling and statistical sampling of voting station results by observer groups are producing a remarkably uniform picture. The Nida Tunis party led by veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi from the previous regime has taken around 35 percent of the seats of the parliament, giving it the right to present a prime minister and form a governing coalition. The powerful Islamist Ennahda is trailing with just 25 percent of the seats. These results seem to have boosted confidence in a swift improvement of the economy in the north African nation. The country is currently facing a dire situation after three years marked by political turmoil, and militant attacks following the Arab Spring. As of early this year, Tunisia's budget deficit was already a prohibitive eight percent of GDP, and the Tunisian dinar fell sharply against the dollar and the euro. Its trade deficit also stood at eight percent because of the economic crisis in Tunisia's largest trading partner, Europe, and important drops in phosphate production and tourism. "Unfortunately, during the three years that passed, there was no vision, no strategy to develop tourism, which is a pillar of the national economy. In my opinion, tourism is one of the solutions that can immediately improve the situation," says Moez Boudali, Chairman, La Maison Blanche Hotel. Boudali, who manages three other hotels, is awaiting official election results like every other Tunisian. But he hopes for the eventual victory of Nida Tunis, and that party leader Essebsi will be effective in turning around the country's economy. "His plan is not to put people based on political affiliations. He will try to choose the best ones, people that deserve it, in order to save the country. Today, that's our chance," says Boudali. The day after Sunday's elections, the Tunis Stock Exchange saw a raise of 1.54 percent, and many experts believe this trend will continue, with the Stock Exchange in positive territory today. According to the macro-economic research company Capital Economics , a victory for Nida Tunis is likely to raise hopes that economic reforms are in the pipeline. Riadh Borjini, Senior Portfolio Manager at BNA Capitaux, a stockholding company, says how the turbulent situation of the past few years dramatically impacted the Tunisian economy. "Foreigners are afraid when they see there are disturbances in the country, such as terrorism," he explains. "The 'capital' is like a coward, when it sees all these parameters, it flies away from investment." But the election results have brought back the hope of future economic stability. "We are expecting an increase (of the exchanges) in the coming days and that the trust of the investors will come back so they can invest in the Tunisian stock exchange," says Borjini. The fact that the electoral process ran smoothly and that so far the different political parties are appearing to play the political game fairly, are signs of a stability that's here to stay, observers feel. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/eed011e3b74c5be50c40bba6d4856ff0 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 03 Aug 2015
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