- Title: LIBYA: Libya's federalists call for complete boycott of upcoming election.
- Date: 28th June 2012
- Summary: BENGHAZI, LIBYA (RECENT) (REUTERS) STREET SCENE WITH CANDIDATE'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN POSTER HANGING CLOSE ON CANDIDATE'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN POSTER TORN AT BOTTOM LEFT CORNER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ONE OF FOUNDERS OF BARQA FEDERAL COUNCIL, ABU BAKR BAYIRA, SAYING: "We think the national assembly is being controlled by certain elements to manipulate the political landscape and we are opposed to this 100 percent, therefore, we will not take part in the elections and we will not allow -- obviously we have moral authority with our members, but we will not hold a stick to them and say do not take part -- but our position as Barqa Council is to boycott these elections completely, not take part and we hope the elections will not take place. Maybe we will close the border in the Red Valley and perhaps in the eastern region and the airport. These are all methods so that we do not allow even election materials to enter the city or the region as a whole." STREET SCENE IN CENTRE OF CITY PEOPLE RIPPING ELECTION CANDIDATE POSTER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BENGHAZI RESIDENT, NORI AL-MISMARI, SAYING: "The revolution started so we can reach a national assembly, give the country a break and have freedom and democracy and people elected will change and others will come, even bad people will be replaced. People should let the wheel spin, things need to keep moving. Regarding the ripping (of elections posters), may God show federalism the correct path, we are all brothers, there is no east and west -- we are all one country." ELECTION POSTER ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) POLITICAL ANALYST, MOHAMMED AL-MAGHRABI, SAYING: "Equality now exists in the form of the constitution and I see no reason in boycotting the national assembly elections on this basis. The national assembly is just an elected legislative body there to manage the country's affairs over the transitional period -- to select a government and manage the affairs of the country and also select a constituent committee, which, once more I repeat, is made equally from the three provinces, and it will be drafting the new constitution. According to the amended article 30, there is another important issue, which is that all decisions made by the national assembly must be agreed to by a two-third majority." VARIOUS OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN POSTERS ON STREET VARIOUS OF PEOPLE TEARING UP ELECTION CAMPAIGN POSTERS
- Embargoed: 13th July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Libya
- Country: Libya
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVACED8S3NELR0FPYLDDWB5Z1K6Q
- Story Text: Activists in Libya's second biggest city who are frustrated with the new national rulers and want to turn Libya into a federal state with autonomous provinces are opposed to an upcoming election to choose a national assembly which will re-draw the autocratic system of rule put in place by ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Benghazi, the eastern Libyan city which was the cradle of last year's revolt which overthrew Gaddafi, is the home of a federalist movement that has alarmed the country's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), which says it could lead to the break-up of the country.
Campaigning for Libya's first national election in a generation kicked off on Monday (June 18) ahead of July 7 polls to choose a national assembly which will be tasked to oversee the government, draft a new constitution and schedule a new round of elections.
Eighty of the assembly's 200 seats will go to political parties and the rest to independent candidates. The assembly's job will be to oversee the government, draft a new constitution and schedule a new round of elections.
But supporters of the federalist movement are opposed to the election and urged their supporters to completely boycott the vote.
Abu Bakr Bayira is one of the founders of Barqa Federal Council in Benghazi. He said the national assembly does not have a fair distribution of seats between the eastern and western parts of the country, and has called on his supporters to boycott the July 7 election.
"We think the national assembly is being controlled by certain elements to manipulate the political landscape and we are opposed to this 100 percent," he said.
"Our position as Barqa Council is to boycott these elections completely, not take part and we hope the elections will not take place. Maybe we will close the border in the Red Valley and perhaps in the eastern region and the airport. These are all methods so that we do not allow even election materials to enter the city or the region as a whole," Bayira added.
But Benghazi is divided ahead of the vote, with some people opposed to the principle of a federal state, saying it is against the goals of last year's February 17 uprising that unseated Gaddafi from his 42-year grip on power.
"The revolution started so we can reach a national assembly, give the country a break and have freedom and democracy and people elected will change and others will come, even bad people will be replaced. People should let the wheel spin, things need to keep moving. Regarding the ripping (of elections posters), may God show federalism the right path, we are all brothers, there is no east and west -- we are all one country," said Nori al-Mismari, a resident of Benghazi.
Candidates are being fielded from 142 political associations, said Libya's electoral commission, in polls due to be held 18 days later than originally planned because of the logistical challenges in a country still recovering from last year's revolt.
Libyans began registering for the election in May and around 2.7 million people, or about 80 percent of eligible voters, have put their names down to participate.
Political analyst Mohammed al-Maghrabi from Benghazi said there is no reason to boycott the election.
"Equality now exists in the form of the constitution and I see no reason in boycotting the national assembly elections on this basis," he said.
"The national assembly is just an elected legislative body there to manage the country's affairs over the transitional period -- to select a government and manage the affairs of the country and also select a constituent committee, which, once more I repeat, is made equally from the three provinces, and it will be drafting the new constitution. According to the amended article 30, there is another important issue, which is that all decisions made by the national assembly must be agreed to by a two-third majority," he added.
The country is currently governed by the NTC, an unelected body of civic and tribal leaders and Gaddafi opponents, which is recognized internationally as the country's legitimate leadership, but is viewed with dissatisfaction by many in Benghazi and seen to be remote and ineffective.
A few months ago, an angry mob stormed a building in Benghazi where NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil was holding meetings.
During his 42-year rule, Gaddafi banned elections saying they were bourgeois and undemocratic. Instead, he mixed repression with idiosyncratic notions of popular rule that, in effect, left him with unchallenged power. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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