Occupied Libya Holds Another Sham Election
Libyans go to the polls on Wednesday in the hope of ending the anarchy that has gripped the country since the CIA-Pentagon-NATO war of regime change in 2011 which devastated the country through the violent overthrow and brutal assassination of former Pan-Africanist leader Muammar Gaddafi.
A new 200-seat parliament will be elected in the second poll since the former Gaddafi government was overthrown.
The UN has described the poll as "an important step in Libya's transition towards stable democratic governance".
The election was called a month ago amid government claims that a CIA operative and renegade general was plotting a coup.
General Khalifa Haftar denied the allegation, but launched a military offensive against Islamist militias whom he accused of holding Libya to ransom.
At least 70 people were killed in the ensuing battles. Gunmen also stormed the parliamentary building in the capital, Tripoli.
According to figures supplied by the current neo-colonial puppet regime in Tripoli more than 1.5 million voters have registered for the election, compared with 2.8 million who registered for Libya's first bogus election in 2012, Reuters news agency reports. Supporters of the former Gaddafi government known as the Jamahiriya have banned from participating in the United States imposed political set-up.
Nearly 2,000 candidates are vying for seats in the new parliament, which will be called the House of Representatives like the imperialist government in the U.S.
Secular parties won elections in 2012, but there are no party lists in this election, our correspondent says.
Instead, candidates are contesting parliamentary seats as individuals - a decision taken to reduce tensions, she adds.
The new parliament will replace the General National Congress, a body that became riddled with controversy, political deadlock and the ideological battles that have raged since the fradulent election nearly two years ago.
Though many Libyans have grown wary of the politics since then, the comprador elite has not quite given up on bourgeois democracy yet. As one prospective voter put it, "We will keep voting until we get the right people in."
It comes at a critical time for Libya, with growing pockets of instability and a prevailing sense of chaotic politics that is crippling the country.
This election is seen as a fresh start, but the underlying divisions, involving political and armed groups, remain. They are all seeking to either overrule or outgun each other. Until these differences are set aside and a compromise reached, the tangible progress many hope for will stay out of reach.
Can Libya's elections end the fighting?
The assembly has been widely blamed by the western corporate media for the crisis in Libya.
The cabinet issued a decree earlier this month that it would be based in the second city, Benghazi.
The move appears to be an attempt to placate residents of Benghazi who feel neglected, despite triggering the counter-revolution that led to Col Gaddafi being targeted for removal by U.S imperialism and its allies in Europe and the Middle East.
However, it is unclear whether new MPs would feel safe in Benghazi, which has been badly affected by instability.
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| Chaos has gripped Libya since the imperialist war of regime-change in 2011. |
A new 200-seat parliament will be elected in the second poll since the former Gaddafi government was overthrown.
The UN has described the poll as "an important step in Libya's transition towards stable democratic governance".
The election was called a month ago amid government claims that a CIA operative and renegade general was plotting a coup.
General Khalifa Haftar denied the allegation, but launched a military offensive against Islamist militias whom he accused of holding Libya to ransom.
At least 70 people were killed in the ensuing battles. Gunmen also stormed the parliamentary building in the capital, Tripoli.
According to figures supplied by the current neo-colonial puppet regime in Tripoli more than 1.5 million voters have registered for the election, compared with 2.8 million who registered for Libya's first bogus election in 2012, Reuters news agency reports. Supporters of the former Gaddafi government known as the Jamahiriya have banned from participating in the United States imposed political set-up.
Nearly 2,000 candidates are vying for seats in the new parliament, which will be called the House of Representatives like the imperialist government in the U.S.
Secular parties won elections in 2012, but there are no party lists in this election, our correspondent says.
Instead, candidates are contesting parliamentary seats as individuals - a decision taken to reduce tensions, she adds.
The new parliament will replace the General National Congress, a body that became riddled with controversy, political deadlock and the ideological battles that have raged since the fradulent election nearly two years ago.
Though many Libyans have grown wary of the politics since then, the comprador elite has not quite given up on bourgeois democracy yet. As one prospective voter put it, "We will keep voting until we get the right people in."
It comes at a critical time for Libya, with growing pockets of instability and a prevailing sense of chaotic politics that is crippling the country.
This election is seen as a fresh start, but the underlying divisions, involving political and armed groups, remain. They are all seeking to either overrule or outgun each other. Until these differences are set aside and a compromise reached, the tangible progress many hope for will stay out of reach.
Can Libya's elections end the fighting?
The assembly has been widely blamed by the western corporate media for the crisis in Libya.
The cabinet issued a decree earlier this month that it would be based in the second city, Benghazi.
The move appears to be an attempt to placate residents of Benghazi who feel neglected, despite triggering the counter-revolution that led to Col Gaddafi being targeted for removal by U.S imperialism and its allies in Europe and the Middle East.
However, it is unclear whether new MPs would feel safe in Benghazi, which has been badly affected by instability.
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