Coalition talks have started with Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party which early election results showed taking the lead in historic polls, the head of the leftist Ettakatol party said Tuesday.
"Discussions have started with all the political partners, including Ennahda," Mustapha Ben Jafaar, leader of Ettakatol, one of the highest-placed leftist parties, told AFP.
The talks "will continue pending the announcement of the definitive results," said Ben Jafaar, who announced his willingness to "assume the highest responsibility" in an interim executive.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Massive numbers of voters elected a new 217-member assembly Sunday in Tunisia's first elections since the toppling of dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in a popular uprising in January that sparked the Arab Spring.
The assembly will rewrite the constitution and appoint a caretaker president and government for the duration of the drafting process.
Ennahda took the lead in early official results announced by the ISIE electoral commission, with 15 of 39 seats in five polling districts, including the key cities of Sousse and Sfax.
The leftist Congress for the Republic (CPR) was in second place with six seats, followed by a grouping of independent candidates backed by Hachmi Haamdi, a rich London-based businessman, with five seats.
A former Islamist party supporter turned ally of deposed leader Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, Haamdi is known in Tunisia through his "al-Mustakillah" television station, broadcast via satellite from London and popular at home.
Advocates have lodged a complaint with the ISIE electoral body for alleged violations of electoral rules by candidates of Haamdi's grouping, the TAP news agency said, without giving details.
