IT is heartening to note that the Arab Spring which started in Tunis came full circle in the same country when results of the historic election were announced last week. The results were wholeheartedly accepted by all parties.

It shows maturity on the part of the people and their leaders. A fair election will help shutting down the notion that the Arab Spring has been hijacked by the West. Previously banned Islamist party Ennahda’s victory proves the point.

We hope Tunisians will not let discussions on the future political setup — to be secular or non-secular — come in the way of achievements they have made during the last few months. Turkey is a role model for Tunis’s democracy. Its leaders’ priority should be to address the issues being faced by the nation: corruption, unemployment and uncertainty about the future which is holding back investments.

Of course, there will be several people in Ennahda who will be asking for polygamy to be permitted, flogging to be resumed and women to be removed from public domain.

But we presume Ennahda will realise that this is not what Tunisians are looking for or sacrificed for. They want their grievances, which triggered the Arab Spring, to be addressed so that they can move forward towards political and economic stability. Otherwise this secular/non-secular discussion will not take the nation anywhere and the revolution will be hijacked by those who are now, in fact, trying to divide the nation on religious grounds.

MASOOD KHAN Jubail, Saudi Arabia