LIBYA: A large number of young candidates are vying for seats in the national assembly ahead of elections next month, despite the high costs of campaigning and a lack of funds
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LIBYA: A large number of young candidates are vying for seats in the national assembly ahead of elections next month, despite the high costs of campaigning and a lack of funds
- Title: LIBYA: A large number of young candidates are vying for seats in the national assembly ahead of elections next month, despite the high costs of campaigning and a lack of funds
- Date: 28th June 2012
- Summary: CLOSE OF ELECTION POSTER ON COMPUTER SCREEN
- Embargoed: 13th July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Libya
- Country: Libya
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA359YMFAZIRIH0IZP84JS5PB97
- Story Text: Campaigning for Libya's first national election in a generation has kicked off ahead of July 7 polls to choose a national assembly, drawing a large number of young hopefuls.
As Libyans prepare to take to the polls young electoral candidates who are running as independents in the country's battle-scarred city of Misrata rush to garner votes for campaigns that have had minimal financial backing.
Independent candidates like 28-year-old Suleiman Mohammed al-Bayodi say young campaigners deserve a seat in the national assembly as it was largely Libya's youth that brought revolution to the country and ousted Muammar Gaddafi from power.
"I am running in the elections because it was the youth that carried out the revolution and we want to continue down that path as a lot of our friends and loved ones died or lost their limbs for this cause," said al-Bayodi who fought with the rebels during the revolution and later worked with the media.
"All the youth are in agreement that we need a new Libya that involves the youth. We do not eliminate the older people but we do want a state where we all share a part, so we may build the future for Libya that we all dream," he added.
The national assembly will re-draw the autocratic system of rule put in place by Gaddafi during his 42 years in power.
In a statement on its website, Libya's electoral commission said candidates will have 18 days to campaign, from June 18 until July 5, with 2,501 independents and 1,206 political association candidates eligible to stand.
It is not only independent candidates that face the daunting task of vying for votes with little money to drive campaigns.
Ahmed al-Fallag who is standing for the recently formed Coalition of National Forces party says campaigners walk around the markets handing out posters to attract votes.
"The Coalition (of National Forces) is considered as one of the new and simpler parties, so we are doing our election campaigning personally and with simple efforts. We are using the public market to distribute posters because we do not have big potential as other parties do," said 33-year old al-Fallag, who after the revolution was part of an evidence collection team in a human rights group.
Many independent candidates rely on family and friends to pour time into their campaigns.
Jamal al-Sbaee, another electoral hopeful, says despite financial obstacles, youthful creativity is the driving force behind his campaign.
"Our (financial) capabilities for the election campaign are very restricted and the campaign management is often spontaneous because this is a new thing for us, and the young people like renewal and do not like to comply to what is formal and official in all matters, we like to be creative in everything that we do," said al-Sbaee.
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.
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.
The country is currently governed by the National Transitional Council, an unelected body of civic and tribal leaders and Gaddafi opponents which is recognized internationally as the country's legitimate leadership.
During his 42-year rule, Gaddafi banned direct elections, saying they were bourgeois and anti-democratic.
Dozens of new parties have sprung up offering a diverse mix of democratic, Islamist, free market and nationalist agendas. Islamists, in particular, are expected to perform well in Libya, a socially-conservative country. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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