Benghazi’s Local Elections: A Message of Confidence to the Rest of Libya and the World [View all]
On Saturday May 19, Benghazi witnessed a historic moment with successful local elections conducted smoothly and peacefully, with local and international observers expressing their complete satisfaction with the manner and atmosphere the elections were conducted in.
The elections in Libya’s second largest city could give early indications to Libyans’ ability to practice democracy in its best form. International and national observers praised the role of the civic society in the city, and there was also great deal of praise to the Supreme Security Committee that secured the city and elections process on the day and long before that.
Most fascinating were the scenes during the results announcement ceremony which highlighted the joy and happiness of the people, and showed that Libyans were hungry for democracy and freedom. Democracy was portrayed in its best form in Benghazi with opponents greeting each other and wishing best of luck to the winners. Such sentiment proves that the candidates had one goal and one ultimate common purpose, and that was to how best serve the city and the citizens of Benghazi.
Another fascinating result from the Benghazi elections was the winning of female candidate Najat El Kikhia with the highest share of votes of all candidates. Najat who is an associate lecturer in statistics at Benghazi University won the trust of the people in her voting district, and such vote proves that Libyans are prepared to give their trust and vote for a female candidate as much as they would for a male candidate, if that candidate showed competence and ability to represent the aspirations and needs of the people.
http://tweepforum.ly/opinion/benghazis-local-elections-a-message-of-confidence/
Compare with the first "elections" in Iraq.
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