TUNIS, Tunisia — Four years after a young Tunisian man set himself on fire in frustration over the dim prospects his country offered, Tunisia is a very different place.

Street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi's desperate act was the spark that set off the Arab Spring and changed the course of history. But while revolutions elsewhere in the region have been swept aside or stained in blood, Tunisia stands out as a success story.

This weekend the country saw its second parliamentary election since the overthrow of long-serving autocratic leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Though the official results have yet to be released, all preliminary estimates suggest that the secular bloc Nidaa Tounes will take the most seats, followed by the Islamist Ennahdha party.

In a statement congratulating Tunisians on the passing of another peaceful election, US President Barack Obama said they "continued to inspire people across their region and around the world, as they did during Tunisia's 2011 revolution."