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Libya's moderates win poll

July 18, 2012

Libya's moderate coalition has beaten its Islamist rivals in the first election since the downfall of former leader Moammar Gadhafi. But without a majority it remains unclear who will dominate the next congress.

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High National Election Commission workers check ballot boxes
Image: Reuters

The National Forces Alliance led by wartime prime minister Mahmoud Jibril gained 39 of 80 seats in Libya's General National Congress, results showed late on Tuesday.

The result gave them a clear victory over Libya's biggest Islamist group, the Justice and Construction Party. The party, which was launched by Libya's Muslim Brotherhood, took just 17 seats in the 200-seat assembly.

But with the remaining 120 seats reserved for individual candidates, Jibril's party lacks an automatic majority. The two leading parties must now scramble to woo independents in a bid to form a dominant bloc within the congress.

Although the names of the winners of those seats were revealed in a press conference on Tuesday, it remains difficult to predict which voting blocs are likely to be formed.

Libya's July 7 poll was the first free national election after more than four decades of dictatorship under ousted and now deceased leader Moammar Gadhafi.

ccp/slk (Reuters, AFP)