Tunisia’s secular party Nidaa Tounes has won in an election for the new 217-member parliament, around 38 percentage of the vote, a party source, citing a preliminary ballot count, said on Monday.

Tunisia’s secular party Nidaa Tounes has won in an election for the new 217-member parliament, around 38 percentage of the vote, a party source, citing a preliminary ballot count, said on Monday.

“We have positive indications that Nidaa Tounes could be leading,” the party’s leader Beji Caid Essebsi said.

The ruling party, Ennahdah secured 67 seats, around 31 percentage of the vote.

If confirmed the result would be a setback for Ennahda, which led a government after winning the most seats in 2011 in the first free election after the fall of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

Election authorities are expected to announce official results later in the day.

Tunisians voted for their new parliament on Sunday in a ballot that brings full democracy within their reach almost four years after an uprising that cast out autocrat Ben Ali and inspired the "Arab Spring" revolts.