Tunisia's secularists are poised to win the most seats in a close-run election that should see the country's ruling Islamists pushed into second place.
The Nidaa Tounes party is expected to win around 80 of 217 seats, with the governing Ennahda party taking 70.
Ennahda officials have acknowledged probable defeat, but urged Nidaa Tounes to include them in a ruling coalition.
Tunisia's transition to democratic rule after a 2011 revolt has been hailed as a regional success story.
The revolt was the first and least violent of the Arab Spring uprisings against autocratic governments across the region.
The parliamentary poll was the second such election since the uprising.
Ennahda official Lotfi Zitoun told Reuters news agency his party accepted the result and congratulated the winner.
"We are calling once again for the formation of a unity government in the interest of the country," he was quoted as saying.
Earlier, Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi was quoted as saying that the winner of the election should respect Tunisia's need for "a government of national unity, a political consensus".
"This is the policy that has saved the country from what other Arab Spring countries are going through," he told local TV station Hannibal.
Militant threatsTalks on a possible power-sharing deal are expected to begin this week.
Tunisia's secularists and Islamists have managed the transition to democracy with less acrimony and bloodshed than their neighbours, correspondents say.
The country nevertheless faces a persistent low-level threat from militants.
Radical groups had threatened to disrupt the elections, and on Thursday, gunmen shot a policeman on the outskirts of the capital, Tunis.
But voting on Sunday appeared to pass without any major incidents.
Around five million Tunisians were registered to cast their ballot, with overseas residents having already voted on Friday.
Tunisia secularists set to win vote
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