TRIPOLI — An alliance of parties led by a US-educated economist is handily leading Libya's legislative elections, according to unofficial results, promising that liberal lawmakers will shape the country's next government and the continuing regional debate about the role of Islam in politics. With 98 percent of the votes counted in most major population centers after this weekend's vote, Mahmoud Jibril's National Forces Alliance — a group of some 60 parties that emphasize pairing Western legal and democratic traditions with Islamic law — leads its Islamist rivals by a wide margin. In central Tripoli, the alliance gained roughly 46,000 votes to 4,774 votes for the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated party, Justice and Development. In the conservative northern Tripoli suburb of Tajoura, the alliance won about 78,000 votes, to Justice's 12,000. Early results from many other heavily populated districts show the alliance is ahead of the Islamist party, its closest rival, as well as the many other parties in each race. Libya's first election in more than half a century contra sts starkly with those in Egypt and Tunisia, where well-organized Islamic groups have come to dominate the political landscape. It helps reduce fears voiced last year in Western capitals that Libya's disparate groups of well-armed religious militias might seize control following Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow. Several religious, rural and professional Libyans alike said in interviews they didn't vote for religious parties because they felt the groups supported a more aggressive religious tradition than normally practiced in Libya. These people said they also distrusted the parties' perceived ties to Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. “We don't like extremists. We are all Muslims in Libya, so why do we need a party of Muslims that thinks they are better than us?” said Karima Al-Freya'a, a 50-year-old mother of four who wears a flowing black abaya and head scarf. Libya's Islamists say they did a poor job sizing up the public mood and selling their platform to the country. “Libya is not Egypt or Tunisia,” said Emmohamed Ghula, spokesman for Al-Watan, the party founded by former Afghan jihadist Abdelhakim Belhaj. “The people perceive it as something suspicious.” Jibril, 60, says he has been a devout Muslim since the age of 14 and has long rejected the labels of secular and liberal. “There are no liberals in Libya,” said Suleiman Zoobi, an independent candidate winner in Benghazi. “Jibril is a Libyan who fasts and prays and whoever says he is a liberal doesn't know what they are talking about.” With about one-third of the individual tallies counted, candidates with strong regional ties, instead of religious affiliations, are also in the lead. That suggests a wide crop of candidates that the alliance can invite into a grand ruling coalition, several of these independent front-runners said. Official results aren't expected for several more days, after votes for all races are tallied. — Agencies
