A man carries ballot boxes after collecting them from different polling stations in Tripoli, Libya on July 8, 2012 (Ismail Zetouni/Courtesy Reuters).

Share

--

--

In a successful and largely peaceful election that took place over the weekend, nearly 1.8 million Libyans, or about 65 percent of registered voters, cast their ballots at almost 1,500 polling stations. As I write on CFR.org today:

So far, early reports suggest that former interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril’s National Forces Alliance is in the lead; final election results should become available later in the week. Jibril’s party is an alliance of numerous groups and is often characterized as being relatively liberal, secular, and pro-business. If the National Forces Alliance wins a majority, it would mark a departure from the experience of neighboring Tunisia and Egypt where Islamists have dominated recent elections. Jibril’s coalition was pitted against Islamist groups, including the party affiliated with Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood, and many thought that Libya’s elections would also deliver a victory to the Islamists.

You can read the full article on CFR.org here.