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Libya's Elections Are Just a Step on Long Road to Healing

As Libyans prepare to vote for the first time since 1965, uncertainty plagues the elections. No absentee ballots will be counted, leaving refugees from Libya's recent turmoil without a voice in the process, and lack of security remains a threat. Mustafa Fetouri writes that the country may need a reconciliation process before democracy can prevail.

Hannan Bachir, candidate for the Justice and Construction Party, the political arm of the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood, walks during her election campaign in a suburb of Tripoli July 4, 2012. Libyans head to the polls on July 7 to elect a national assembly in the nation's first election in a generation almost a year after ousting Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed rebellion.  REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (LIBYA - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS)
Hannan Bachir, candidate for the Justice and Construction Party, the political arm of the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood, walks during her election campaign in a suburb of Tripoli July 4, 2012. — REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

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