IT HAS been a difficult eight years since Tunisia toppled its dictator and embraced democracy in 2011. The economy remains stagnant, corruption is still endemic, terrorism is a problem and politicians have disappointed. But the election of Kais Saied as president on October 13th has brought a new sense of hope. After the polls closed and it became clear that Mr Saied had won, thousands of Tunisians gathered in the streets of the capital, many chanting the same slogans from eight years earlier.
Mr Saied trounced Nabil Karoui, a fiery businessman who ran a populist campaign aimed at the poor. That two political outsiders made it to the final round, over many more familiar faces, was a rebuke of the political elite. But many voters considered Mr Karoui, who is facing corruption charges, an opportunist. Mr Saied, on the other hand, was seen as a monastic figure who will root out corruption and take on the establishment.
The parliamentary election produced a fragmented legislature, with some 20 parties represented. Ennahda won 52 of the 219 seats . Mr Karoui’s new party, Qalb Tounes, came second with 38. Nidaa Tounes , the former ruling party, was nearly wiped out. Beset by infighting, many of its leading members, such as Youssef Chahed, the prime minister, started new parties. It was also hit by the death of its founder, Beji Caid Essebsi, Tunisia’s first elected president, in July.