Tunis, Oct 30 (IANS): The Nidaa Tounes, a liberal party, won most seats in Tunisia's legislative elections held Sunday, capturing 85 of the total 217 seats in the country's new parliament, according to preliminary results announced by Tunisia's Elections Board (ISIE) Thursday.

The Islamist party Ennahdha, which won most seats of the National Constituent Assembly in the 2011 elections, came second with 69 seats, said Chafik Sarsar, head of the Elections Board, announcing the preliminary results.

The Patriotic Free Union (UPL) won the third place with 16 seats, Xinhua reported citing Sarsar. The party is led by controversial businessman Slim Riahi, who founded it after the 2011 Arab Spring revolution.

As for the leftist spectrum on the political landscape, the Popular Front, a small coalition of leftist parties, won 15 seats. The Afek Tounes party, led by Yassine Ibrahim, won eight seats. And the rest of the seats went to smaller parties and independent candidates.

The turnout was 69 percent in the Sunday elections, lower than that of the first constitutional elections held in October 2011, according to the ISIE.

The ISIE will announce the final official results before the Nov 24 deadline.

The Nidaa Tounes is led by 87-year-old Beji Caid Essebsi, a prominent politician who used to be a prime minister under the former regime of Tunisia's first president Habib Bourguiba.

The party is expected to form a new government after the new president is elected.

Tunisia's presidential election is scheduled for Nov 23. The ISIE has approved 27 final candidates for the 2014 presidential election, out of 70 initial applications.