Libya’s Parliamentary Elections: Key to Stability

Local Editor

Libyans are to elect a new parliament on Wednesday, in a vote seen as crucial for the future of a country hit by months of political chaos and growing unrest.

In the past few weeks, Libya has been rocked by a crisis that saw two rival cabinets jostling for power while violence raged in the east, where a rogue general is battling extremists.

The heavily armed rebels that ousted Dictator Moammar Gadhafi have carved out their own fiefdoms in the deeply tribal country, some even seizing oil terminals and crippling crude exports from a sector key to government revenues.

Commentators have warned violence could scupper the vote, but the authorities are confident it will go ahead without disruptions.

There are hopes a new General National Congress, or parliament, will work to resolve the power struggle between liberals and Islamists that has stymied efforts to reform Libya and brought it to its knees.
The crisis came to a head in February when the assembly, whose term had been due to expire, decided to prolong its mandate until December.

The move sparked street protests and forced lawmakers to announce the election.
Almost 3.5 million Libyans are eligible to vote but only 1.5 million have registered, according to officials, a far cry from the more than 2.7 registered voters two years ago.
Voters will choose from among 1,628 candidates, with 32 seats in the 200-strong GNC reserved for women and would-be MPs banned from belonging to any political party.
The electoral commission has stressed it is seeking only "individual candidates" - not necessarily independents but those with no declared political affiliations.

A Western diplomat, meanwhile, warned against electoral fraud and said the next challenge would be if Libyans rally around the vote.
"The challenge is not holding an election. The success of the vote will depend on whether all influential players in the country will accept its results."
Wednesday's vote will be held between 0600 and 1800 GMT at 1,601 polling stations scattered across the country.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team