TOZEUR, TUNISIA // Libya's politicians face the task of building coalitions out of an array of parties and candidates as an alliance that tends toward liberalism won 39 seats out of 200 in a new governing body, while one closely linked with the Muslim Brotherhood trailed with 17.
Libyan electoral authorities announced the results late on Tuesday. But with only 80 seats out of the 200 allotted to political entities, and the others given to individuals who have often not declared an allegiance, the final results of the landmark July 7 elections came amid intense efforts by bloc leaders to recruit support for coalitions.
Although this was the first poll since the late Muammar Qaddafi began his autocratic rule 43 years ago, and Libyan politicians and people stress that politics is a new phenomenon to them, observers say that political negotiations are going ahead. "We have heard that several people are meeting with several people. I would characterise this as pretty normal, what happens after an election," said Carlo Binda of the US-based National Democratic Institute.
Ideally, he said, any coalition would form the two-thirds majority needed for the new assembly, whose primary task is to put together a group to write a constitution. He said that the start of Ramadan would likely delay the government's formation.
"There will probably be a lot of iftar dinners when people break the fast and discuss their political future," he said. At the very least, a new government is not likely to be formed until after a two-week period to look into any appeals.
Officials from the National Forces Alliance, which is led by former interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril, have struck a triumphant tone and claimed that they can easily build a coalition. Mr Jibril did not stand for a seat, disqualified by being part of the transitional authorities, and it is not clear what role he would play in a new government.
The leader of the Brotherhood-linked Justice and Development Party, Mohammad Sowan, has made the same claim and may find it easier to call on the support of smaller, more religious parties.
But even if he is unable to do so, his party is by no means a spent force, say some. The new General National Congress faces a daunting task of imposing law and order on a still unstable country and navigating legally unclear waters with the constitution-writing process.
While Libya is the exception to an emerging trend in the post-Arab Spring, whereby Brotherhood-led parties dominate the political landscape, the expectations were never high for them to perform strongly at this stage, said Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institute in Doha.
"Maybe they could become the leaders of the opposition for now, which might actually be good for them," he added. "This is going to be a very difficult phase of Libya's government and if they perform well they could stand a good chance in the next elections."
"It's a temporary setback for the Brotherhood but one from which they can easily recover."
