Libyans celebrate first free vote, West hails election as democratic milestone

 Sunday, 08 July 2012

Turnout in Libya’s first free elections in decades was put at 60 percent by the country’s Electoral Commission. (Reuters)

By Al Arabiya with Agencies
 

Libya’s first free elections in decades, following the ouster of dictator Muammar Qaddafi, were hailed as a democratic milestone in the West, despite protests disrupting some polling in the restive east.

Turnout was put at 60 percent by the country’s Electoral Commission, according to preliminary figures.  

 In the capital, long queues formed of people keen to elect the General National Congress, which will steer Libya through a transition period.  

 “Words cannot capture my joy, this is a historic day,” said Fawziya Omran, 40, voting in a school in the heart of Tripoli.

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