Liberals Lead Islamists in First Free Libyan Elections

Last October Al-Qaeda planted its flag on the Benghazi Courthouse. The terror group warned locals:
“Whomever speaks ill of this flag, we will cut out his tongue.”

From the video: According to one Benghazi resident, Islamists driving brand-new SUVs and waving the black al Qaeda flag drive the city’s streets at night.

But today Libyan liberals are leading the Islamists in the first round of democratic elections. The Islamist parties won elections this year in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco following the Arab Spring uprisings.
The AFP reported:

Liberals claimed an early lead on Sunday in vote counting across the country after Libya held its first free elections following Moamer Kadhafi’s overthrow, winning plaudits from the international community.

If the trend is confirmed, Libya unlike neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt whose strongmen were also toppled in last year’s Arab Spring, will buck the trend of electoral success for Islamist movements.

“Early reports show that the coalition is leading the polls in the majority of constituencies,” the secretary general of the National Forces Alliance, Faisal Krekshi, told AFP.

The alliance which groups more than 40 small parties is headed by Mahmud Jibril who played a prominent role as rebel prime minister during last year’s popular revolt that toppled dictator Kadhafi and ended his four-decade rule.

The leader of one of Libya’s main Islamist parties, also basing his assessment on their vote count observers, acknowledged the rival coalition had the edge in the country’s two largest cities.

“The National Forces Alliance achieved good results in some large cities except Misrata. They have a net lead in Tripoli and in Benghazi,” said Mohammed Sawan, who heads the Justice and Construction party.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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