Libya\'s liberals lead initial poll results over Brotherhood

Libyan election: \'It is like a wedding celebration for the whole country The initial results of Libya\'s parliamentary election indicate that the liberal party is leading the country\'s first free vote since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi\'s regime. The Higher National Electoral Commission (HNEC) on Tuesday announced the official results which can be appealed against within 14 days, after which the results will be considered final. The HNEC declared the National Forces Alliance (NFA), led by former interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril, secured 39 out of the 80 seats devoted to the partisan lists. This result means the NFA  won only 20 percent of seats in the 200-seat assembly. Libyans have to wait for the results of the other 120 seats devoted to the individual candidates, in order to know the final formation of the National Congress.
The Justice and Construction Party (JCP), launched by Libya\'s Muslim Brotherhood, came second with 17 seats, gaining less than half the seats won by their liberal rivals, in what might be a surprise outcome for most observers.
Other parties which have secured their place in the Congress include Mohammed Magarief\'s National Front, which took three seats, and Ali Tarhouni\'s National Centrist Party, which earned two seats. Tarhouni, who served as interim oil minister during the revolution, is known to be close to Jibril and his party is expected to ally itself with the NFA. The Union for Homeland won two seats, as did the little known Wadi al-Hayah Party for Democracy and Development. Fifteen other parties took one seat each.
However, in another surprise outcome, the Nation Party, which counts the prominent Islamist figure Abdelhakim Belhaj amongst its members, failed to win a single seat.
At least 30 women won seats in the Congress as a result of a system which obliged parties to alternate 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 result represents a significant break with recent trends in post-Arab Spring North Africa, where Muslim Brotherhood-backed parties have taken power in Egypt and Tunisia.