Tunisia is hoping to break through barriers with its first local elections since its Arab Spring revolution: They could bring the first woman mayor of the capital, the first Jewish official with an Islamist party and new flock of mayors with greater powers. (Hassene Dridi/Associated Press)TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisians voted Sunday in their first local elections since the 2011 Arab Spring revolution, a crucial step toward consolidating the country’s exceptional democracy. President Beji Caid Essebsi, casting his ballot in the Tunis suburb of Soukra, insisted that Tunisia has taken the right path. The leader of influential Islamist party Ennahdha, Rached Ghannouchi, sounded a similar theme. And in the Mediterranean resort town of Monastir, Jewish sewing machine repairman Simon Slama is running with the Islamist party Ennahdha.

Source: Washington Post May 06, 2018 07:08 UTC