Several weeks of declaring Mahmoud Jabril’s pro-western party the “winner” in Libya’s elections has come to a close, with the final count giving his National Forces Alliance (NFA) a solid plurality among the parties competing in the election.
The NFA got 39 seats, while the Justice and Construction Party (JCP) came in second place with only 17. That may seem like a big difference, but in a parliament of 200 members, it may mean very little.
The curious system of Libyan politics actually mandates that 120 out of the 200 seats go to independent candidates running outside of the party system, so it was theoretically impossible for either the NFA or the JCP to win outright. The independents are being presented as a “third power,” but they are more than that, capable of spurning the parties entirely and ruling without them if they chose.
The NFA’s claims of victory then are extremely premature. The JCP thinks it will have an easier time courting religious-minded independents, but might well have to offer massive concessions to bring enough on board to government. The independents are definitely the kingmakers in Libya, and no matter how many stories claim a winner has been declared in the vote, it really hasn’t.
It's trumpeted as a triumph for "democracy" by deluded imperialist countries like the US and UK because they desperately need some success.
They will solve the problem with help of "international community". We will probably see some leaders of anti-NATO folks martyred the same way as Gen. Abdul Fattah Younis was martyred when he become too powerful an obstacle for Jabril. Few of indepedents die and others will lock their steps with Jabril and NATO. West is not going to lose Libya just for few stupid islamists or nationalists who make problems on Libya's way to democracy. Our democracy!
Bottom line is this, while this Jibrill and others are fighting for their momentum, the US and EU already stealing the Libyans people wealth, Oil, and the Libyan people $57 billion dollars that stolen before Jibrilli election.
And these independents are representing whom? Their family members that voted for them? What a riduculous system! it will be mighty easy to force these individuals who have no constituency behind them — to do anything. Who has invented this "democracy", in which the "demos" are not needed! Well, this is really cute — democracy without people! Just let some tycoons put those "independents" in their back pockets, and voting problem solved!!