Competition for the Tunis mayor post intensified after revealing preliminary results on municipality elections held last Sunday.
According to official results announced by the electoral commission last night, the Islamic Renaissance Movement, Ennahda, came in first after winning 21 out of 60 seats, while the secularist Nidaa Tounes took 17.
The poll was marked by low turnout, with 64% of voters abstaining, the electoral commission said on Wednesday.
The rest of the seats were distributed among the other parties and independents.
Although Ennahda party and Nidaa Tounes have been government partners for four years, they are vying for landing the municipality in Tunis post, which comes with the benefits of being linked to the country's oldest municipality.
If Ennahda’s candidate Souad Abderrahim wins the backing of a majority of municipal councilors, the 53-year-old pharmacist could become the capital's first ever female mayor, a post previously appointed by the president.
But Nidaa Tounes official Wissam Saidi said its candidate Kamel Idir, also a pharmacist and former president of a leading football club, was better placed to form a coalition as the capital's mayor.
Municipal elections will put the political consensus between the two parties at stake, as they are required to strike a local balance to maintain the alliance that has been in place since 2014.
More so, the relative majority won by Ennahda will not automatically secure their candidate’s automatic assignment to the presidency of the municipal council. It will therefore be necessary to obtain the majority through voting and alliances within the council.
The outcome will depend on Ennahda's ability to negotiate and rally coalitions at the local level.
Tunisia's 7,212 municipal councillors elected last Sunday now have until July to elect their mayors.
The two top parties are expected to hold talks aimed at upholding their coalition.
