Voters defy calls for federalism in eastern Libya
By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
Published on 07.07.2012
Benghazi, Libya (dpa) – Samira bin Ghazi woke up early on Saturday, wore her newest clothes and headed to the polls in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi to vote in the National Congress election, the first in about half a century in the North African country.
“I would not have missed this moment for anything,” says the 53-year-old teacher, after she cast her ballot in the first election since the ouster of longtime leader Moamer Gaddafi.
Anticipation took hold of Libya in the weeks leading to the elections, after people in the east expressed their discontent with the country’s interim rulers and announced their desire to restore the federal system in the country.
“They have gone out of their minds,” says bin Ghazi, with an angry tone. “It will never happen. If we want to divide Libya, we would not have ousted Gaddafi.”
But her anger soon disappears as she meets a friend inside the polling station. They congratulate each other and then start ululating a high-pitch trill, as if they were at a wedding.
In March, tribal leaders in eastern Libya said they wanted the Cyrenaica region to be semi-autonomous, thus reviving the old federal system that was applied in the early 20th century.
Back then, Libya was divided into three federations: Tripolitania in the north-western part of the country; Fezzan in the south-west; and the eastern Cyrenaica, which is known in Arabic as Barqa. The system was abolished after the 1967 coup led Gaddafi.
That call was rejected by the National Transitional Council (NTC), which has been ruling the country for the past 15 months. It was also refuted by major political parties fielding candidates in Saturday’s elections.
Hundreds of armed protesters favouring the federal system stormed the election commission in Benghazi a week before the election to protest the allocation of seats for the eastern province of Cyrenaica. They chanted pro-federalist slogans, demanding autonomy from the central government in Tripoli.
A fire had destroyed ballot boxes and papers at a depot in the eastern city of Ajdabiya on Thursday.
Naji al-Dinali, standing on the side of Dubai Square in Benghazi, took part in a series of recent protests calling for a boycot of the elections.
“I will not vote, and we will have another revolution against the marginalization of the eastern cities,” he tells dpa.
Al-Dinali plans to take part in more protests, which he says are peaceful, despite the group having received threats. On Friday he took part in a small sit-in in the same square.
“We are peaceful demonstrators, but if they fire at us ... well, we have guns too you know,” he says.
The NTC has faced many challenges over the past year; the most pressing is the uncontrolled weapons people kept since the armed conflict against Gaddafi ended in October. Clashes have erupted several times in southern areas, claiming the lives of scores of people.
The proliferation of arms is the main problem worrying Basma al-Jihani. The 28-year-old social worker says she is fed up with the continuous sound of gunshots she hears every night.
“Voting will allow us to elect the representatives who will help solve all of our problems,” she says.
Libya’s interim leaders made a sudden constitutional change on Thursday, stripping the National Congress of the power to choose the committee tasked with drafting the country's new constitution.
The constitutional committee would instead be elected directly by the people, in a move that is seen as trying to calm protesters in the east.
While some people have welcomed the move, many are planning to hold more demonstrations against the elections.
“The whole electoral law should change and allow Cyrenaica more seats,” says Fathi, a Benghazi resident in his 60s.
“We want to have a voice in shaping our country in the future,” he add, though long lines standing outside polling stations reflected people’s eagerness to vote and move the country forward.
