Libya's wild ride: First post-Kadafi elections chaotic, hopeful
Source: LA Times
It's been nearly half a century since the people of Libya were consulted about who should lead them. So long that less than 5% of Libyans have any memory of voting in an election before Moammar Kadafi seized power in 1969 and banned politics as bourgeois and un-Islamic.
Little wonder, with the marketplace of ideas shut down through two generations, that the eight months since Kadafi's overthrow and execution have been fraught with tribal clashes, separatist movements and power struggles leading up to Saturday's election for a transitional legislature.
But what looks on the surface to be chaos and contention won't necessarily thwart Libya's first step toward defining what kind of state will emerge from the rubble of Kadafi's erratic 42-year rule. Middle East experts tracking the shock waves of the "Arab Spring" across the region see keen interest among Libyans in defining their own future.
Saturday's vote for a 200-seat General National Congress has drawn more than 3,700 candidates and 142 political parties, according to the High National Election Commission. More than 80% of eligible voters have registered, campaigning has been brisk, and moderation has been the dominant message of most candidates.
Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/07/libyas-kadafi-elections-chaotic-hopeful-.html
We shall see soon if islamists take over as in Egypt. I have high hopes, however, if "islamists" take over I will not be overly critical. These countries have for too long been at the mercy of the US and other western states. Their self-determination is more important than anything.
Note: the elections in Libya start today, if it is unclear by the source I have chosen.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Peaceful protesters in Benghazi who have realised they are being denied their rights by the Nato rebels take to the streets on election day. The protesters demand an equal representation of the eastern region of Libya in the government. Most of the natural resources are in the east.
The militias, widely known as Nato rebels in Libya because they only came to power through Nato intervention, claimed to be against the shooting of 'peaceful protesters'. They used that as a pretext to call for Nato intervention to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.
However, the words and promises by the militias for a better day for Libya were empty, fulfilling the proverb that the 'grass is not greener on the other side'. Libya is a lesson in history about how people wish for what other people have, and fail as they try to obtain something foreign to them. If only they could come back to life and see again, they will regret that the grass they had was indeed green.
video
http://middle-east-revolutions.prochan.com/Libya/t/c0e_1341707518
Helicopter shot down on the eve of Libya's first post-Qaddafi election
AP) TRIPOLI, Libya - A spokesman for Libya's National Transitional Council says gunmen have shot down a helicopter carrying voting materials, killing one election commission worker.
The attack near the eastern city of Benghazi comes on the eve Libya's first national election since the toppling and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi last year.
....
The vote also will be a test of the strength of Islamist parties, which have gained influence in Libya and other nations following the ouster of authoritarian regimes run by strongmen like Qaddafi and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
Groups vying for power range from the politically savvy Muslim Brotherhood to the ultraconservative Salafis and former jihadists.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57467586/helicopter-shot-down-on-the-eve-of-libyas-first-post-qaddafi-election/
Libyan election: Islamists storm Benghazi polling stations
http://www.euronews.com/2012/07/07/libyan-election-islamists-storm-benghazi-polling-stations/
Somebody wants the tribes of Bengghazi to have reduced representation in the new government.
?
I saw an article that those in the oil rich east demand MORE of a voice.... oil and all....
I did a fast search on Libyan parties. Seems only five are being taken serious by the many tribes that make up the nation of Libya ;
Libya's political parties
Justice and Development Party *
Homeland Party **
National Forces Alliance
Created in February 2012, the alliance presents itself as a liberal movement and is believed to be the main liberal contender in the elections.
The alliance includes about forty political organisations, hundreds of NGOs and almost 300 independent figures from a wide spectrum of Libyan society.
Headed by Mahmoud Jibril, the former prime minister, the alliance calls for the application of "moderate Islam" and "for the establishment of the foundations of a democratic civil state".
Jibril himself is not allowed to stand as a candidate because of his brief participation in the interim government.
By heading the alliance he merely establishes himself as a political force, aiming to scoop up a high-placed position in the future government.
Mahmoud Jibril, party leader:
"The motive behind the creation of this alliance is the integrity of Libyan land, the shared interest of all Libyans to form their own constitution … What we hope to do in this alliance is bring in all the active national figures who represent a wide spectrum of political, cultural and social backgrounds in the Libyan community."
National Centrist Party
..Ali Terhouni, the founder of the party, and the former deputy prime minister in charge of oil and finance in Jibril's interim cabinet
....Like Jibril’s Alliance,
Terhouni's National Centrist Party campaigns on issues like a strong state and the strict rule of law.
National Front Party
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/06/2012626224516206109.html
In another,non western msm article;
Islamists, liberals sure of victory in Libya
.....three parties are seen as key contenders, including the liberal Alliance of National Forces, led by war-time prime minister Mahmoud Jibril, which faces stiff competition from Islamist parties Justice and Construction and Al Wattan.
“We don’t have surveys, so really we have no idea how powerful or how weak we are,” said Ali Tarhuni, leader of a centrist party within the coalition, who served as the rebels’ oil and finance minister during the 2011 conflict.
*Mohammad Sawan, head of the Justice and Construction which was launched by Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood, said his party enjoys a broad base of support in the conservative country unlike liberal “technocrats.”
“We believe that the National Congress should have a solid bloc that has popular backing across the country,” he said.
Sawan added that his party aims to dominate the incoming congress by linking up with similar parties, such as Al Wattan, **( Homeland Party )which draws on the popularity of members such as former jihadist Abdul Hakim Belhaj, and the National Front
...Jibril and Tarhuni who proved themselves during the “crisis-period,” or the early stages of last year’s war against Gaddafi, also stand a good chance.
“Our goal is to get the majority, we will see later whether we need alliances or not,” said its secretary general Faisal Al Krekshi
He rejects the “naive” notion that Libya’s political scene is split between moderates and Islamists noting that “all Libyans are Muslim and all parties recognise Islam as the main source of legislation.”
.....
There are no major policy differences between the nascent parties, with all of them advertising themselves as nationalists, democrats, and Islamists in the same breath, while promising to tackle security, health and the economy.
All the parties agree that Islamic law, or Sharia, should be a reference of legislation in the Muslim nation. Differences tend to centre on what system of governance Libya should have - presidential, parliamentary or a mix.
...........
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/libya/islamists-liberals-sure-of-victory-in-libya-1.1045614
