The End of a Regime and the Dawn of a New Era

It is a historical day in two countries in North Africa.  The Libyan government has declared national liberation and in Tunisia   more than 3 million people are going to the  polls to vote for a parliament which will lay the foundations for forming a new government. 

Late last year a vendor in Tunisia set himself on fire.  At the time no one paid much attention to this event. No one knew that it would be the start of the "Arab Spring".  Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was the first to go.  The former President of Tunisia fled the country for Saudi Arabia.  Next protester gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt to demand that Hosni Mubarak step down.  Afterwards protesters took to the streets in Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria.  In mid-February Mubarak left and the protest gathered momentum in Libya.  Muammar Gaddafi took to the airwaves in a fiery and defiant manner urging his supporters to resist the countries new leaders, the National Transitional Council (NTC).  First the city of Benghazi fell to the new leaders and then movement moved eastward towards the capital Tripoli.  The NTC were able to convince the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to provide military support.  While NATO did not send ground troops, it did provide significant military air power.  Finally, on Thursday 20 October 2011, Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed.  While the exact details of his capture and death are still unknown at this point, 42 years of brutality are now hopefully over for Libya.  The future of Libya is unknown.  After so many years under a dictatorship, the country has no institutions, no government, and no constitution.  The NTC have promised to write a constitution and hold elections by June 2012.

In Tunisia 3 million people went to the polls for the first time.  This is estimated to be 90% of registered voters.  Tunisians are electing a 217-seat assembly which will draft a constitution and appoint an interim government.  There are more than 100 parties contesting in the elections, but Islamist Ennahda party is expected to win the most votes.  The results are expected on 25 October 2011. Leaving the polling stations, voters were eager to show the dark blue ink on their fingers. 

The elections in Tunisia are being watched closely around the world because the country is the first to hold elections after the fall of an authoritarian regime.  The events in Tunisia may set the tone for other countries who have ousted leaders and are looking to hold elections in order to form a new government.  Many voters have expressed the desire to have a government based on Islamic law, but emphasized that they want a modern Islamic society, not an ultra-conservative one.  They feel it needs to be tolerant and open to in its dealings with other cultures.

The events of today will have ramifications for years to come, not only for their respective countries, but also for the global society .  Therefore it is crucial that both countries make the correct decisions in these early days of democracy.