Unrest mars joy as Libya goes to the polls
Source: Agencies |
July 8, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CROWDS of joyful Libyans, some with tears in their eyes, parted with the legacy of Muammar Gaddafi yesterday as they voted in the first free national election in 60 years.
But in the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of last year's uprising and now seeking more autonomy from the interim government, protesters stormed polling stations and burned hundreds of ballot papers.
Libyans are choosing a 200-member assembly which will elect a prime minister and cabinet before laying the ground for full parliamentary elections next year under a new constitution.
Candidates with Islamic agendas dominate the field of more than 3,700 hopefuls, suggesting Libya will be the next Arab Spring country - after Egypt and Tunisia - to see religious parties secure a grip on power.
In Benghazi, witnesses said protesters stormed a polling station just after voting started and publicly burnt hundreds of ballot slips in a bid to undermine the election's credibility.
One local election commission worker said two other polling stations in Benghazi had also had their ballots boxes looted.
At one polling station hit by the protests, a man was shot in the arm, local election official Ismail Al-Mjbali said.
In the capital Tripoli, voting was smooth. A loud cry of "Allahu akbar" ("God is greatest") went up inside a polling station there as the first woman cast her vote in a converted school building abuzz with the chatter of queueing locals.
"I can't describe the feeling. We paid the price, I have two martyrs in my family. I'm certain the future will be good, Libya will be successful," Zainab Masri, a 50-year-old teacher, said of her first experience of voting.
"I am a Libyan citizen in free Libya," said Mahmud Mohammed Al-Bizamti. "I came today to vote in a democratic way. Today is like a wedding for us."
Many easterners, whose region is home to the bulk of Libya's oil sector, are angry that the east has been allotted only 60 seats in the assembly compared to 102 for the west.
On Friday, armed groups in the east shut off Libya's oil exports to press their demands for greater representation in the new national assembly. At least three major oil-exporting terminals were affected.
"The country will be in a state of paralysis because no one in the government is listening to us," Hamed al-Hassi, a former rebel now heading the High Military Council of Cyrenaica, the name of the eastern region.
Port agents said the oil depots closures would last 48 hours but the government sent a team yesterday to negotiate reopening.
On Friday, a helicopter carrying voting material had to make an emergency landing near Benghazi after being struck by anti-aircraft fire. One person on board was killed.
"There is no security in this country," complained Emad El-Sayih, deputy head of the High National Election Commission.
Concerns exist elsewhere. In the southern area of Kufra in the Sahara desert, tribal clashes are so fierce that election observers are unable to visit, and some question whether the vote can proceed in areas there.
In Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the mood before the polls was restrained, with some saying they would not vote.
While analysts say it is hard to predict the make-up of the new assembly, parties and candidates professing Islamic values dominate those standing.
But in the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of last year's uprising and now seeking more autonomy from the interim government, protesters stormed polling stations and burned hundreds of ballot papers.
Libyans are choosing a 200-member assembly which will elect a prime minister and cabinet before laying the ground for full parliamentary elections next year under a new constitution.
Candidates with Islamic agendas dominate the field of more than 3,700 hopefuls, suggesting Libya will be the next Arab Spring country - after Egypt and Tunisia - to see religious parties secure a grip on power.
In Benghazi, witnesses said protesters stormed a polling station just after voting started and publicly burnt hundreds of ballot slips in a bid to undermine the election's credibility.
One local election commission worker said two other polling stations in Benghazi had also had their ballots boxes looted.
At one polling station hit by the protests, a man was shot in the arm, local election official Ismail Al-Mjbali said.
In the capital Tripoli, voting was smooth. A loud cry of "Allahu akbar" ("God is greatest") went up inside a polling station there as the first woman cast her vote in a converted school building abuzz with the chatter of queueing locals.
"I can't describe the feeling. We paid the price, I have two martyrs in my family. I'm certain the future will be good, Libya will be successful," Zainab Masri, a 50-year-old teacher, said of her first experience of voting.
"I am a Libyan citizen in free Libya," said Mahmud Mohammed Al-Bizamti. "I came today to vote in a democratic way. Today is like a wedding for us."
Many easterners, whose region is home to the bulk of Libya's oil sector, are angry that the east has been allotted only 60 seats in the assembly compared to 102 for the west.
On Friday, armed groups in the east shut off Libya's oil exports to press their demands for greater representation in the new national assembly. At least three major oil-exporting terminals were affected.
"The country will be in a state of paralysis because no one in the government is listening to us," Hamed al-Hassi, a former rebel now heading the High Military Council of Cyrenaica, the name of the eastern region.
Port agents said the oil depots closures would last 48 hours but the government sent a team yesterday to negotiate reopening.
On Friday, a helicopter carrying voting material had to make an emergency landing near Benghazi after being struck by anti-aircraft fire. One person on board was killed.
"There is no security in this country," complained Emad El-Sayih, deputy head of the High National Election Commission.
Concerns exist elsewhere. In the southern area of Kufra in the Sahara desert, tribal clashes are so fierce that election observers are unable to visit, and some question whether the vote can proceed in areas there.
In Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the mood before the polls was restrained, with some saying they would not vote.
While analysts say it is hard to predict the make-up of the new assembly, parties and candidates professing Islamic values dominate those standing.
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