TRIPOLI — Results from Libya's first elections since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi have shown gains for an alliance of parties seen as broadly secular. The National Forces Alliance (NFA), led by ex-interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, has won 39 out of 80 seats reserved for political parties. Islamist party has gained 17. The 200-member General National Assembly will also include dozens of independent candidates. The overall orientation that the assembly will have is so far unclear. What remains to be seen is who, if anyone, will lead the assembly by majority. That will depend on the allegiances — largely unknown — of 120 independent candidates. While congratulating other parties, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Justice and Construction Party said it had made gains in seats reserved for independent members. They may now be banking on a shift in their favor from the non-party lists. It was, for many, the act of voting that mattered most. Nevertheless, this landslide victory for the centrist NFA in the party-list was largely expected since the preliminary results started trickling out over the past week. If liberals do manage to hold sway over the assembly, Libya, unlike neighboring Tunisia and Egypt whose strongmen were also toppled in last year's Arab Spring, will buck the trend of electoral success for Islamist movements. The NFA coalition brings together some 60 parties and independent figures, led by technocrats who lived abroad and advocate a moderate Islam, economic liberalization and openness to the West. Jibril, who played a key role drumming up international support for the 2011 revolution, has called for all parties to join a national unity dialogue in a bid to form an even broader coalition. Meanwhile, Mohammed Sawan, head of the Justice and Construction Party, has expressed confidence that a large number of independents in the congress will side with Islamists. At least 30 women secured seats in the congress thanks to a system which obliged parties to alternate on their lists between male and female candidates. Only one female independent candidate was elected. In all, women will hold approximately 16.5 percent of the 200 seats. The results come 10 days after landmark elections hailed by world leaders. The new congress is tasked with appointing a new interim government and steering the country for a roughly one-year transition period, until fresh elections can be held on the basis of a new constitution. The electoral commission put voter turnout at 62 percent of registered voters. It has granted a two-week window for candidates to review and appeal results. — Agencies
