Why The Islamists Lost in Libya
Defying all predictions, Libyans voted overwhelmingly for liberal political parties instead of the Islamists, according to early election results. Mustafa Fetouri says Mahmoud Jibril’s coalition may have pulled off the surprising victory because of Jibril's skill and charm — and also because Libyans feared going down the same path as Tunisa and Egypt.
Defying all predictions, Libyans voted overwhelmingly for liberal political parties instead of the Islamists. While final results have not been announced, Mahmoud Jibril’s National Forces Alliance (NFA) has taken the lead, according to early election results.
The NFA is a loose coalition of some 60 smaller parties, based mainly in Tripoli, and over two dozen civil-society groups that have sprung up in Libya over the last 13 months. Jibril, an American-educated strategist, was the war-time prime minister and is considered to be the architect behind the opposition government led by the National Transitional Council, which represented the rebels. He headed the opposition’s executive bureau from March to October 2011.
