Libya's Islamists count on independents to get a majority

Libya's Islamists said on Tuesday they should be able to control the new national congress through alliances with like-minded independents even though liberals appear to be doing well in seats reserved for parties.

Preliminary results of Libya's first election since last year's fall of Moamer Kadhafi suggest that the National Forces Alliance (NFA), a broad coalition of parties rallying behind wartime prime minister Mahmud Jibril, will leave Islamist parties in the dust on the party side.

But parties will hold only 80 out of 200 seats in the incoming congress, with the remainder open to individual candidates, some of whom are genuine independents and others who have ties to specific parties.

"We expect to have a very large presence in the congress," said Mohammed Sawan, head of the Justice and Construction Party, an Islamist party spawned by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Libyans voted for the congress, a 200-member legislative assembly that will steer the country through a transition. Turnout was above 60 percent, the electoral commission said.

Read more: AFP: Libya's Islamists count on independents to get a majority