NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has congratulated Libyans on participating in their country's first-ever free democratic elections held earlier this month, noting that the polls were part of an "an impressive step forward" in its political transition.
"I congratulate the Libyan people on the announcement of the results of the first election held across the country in almost half a century. This election marks an impressive step forward in Libya's transition to democracy, after over forty years of dictatorship," Rasmussen said in a statement on Wednesday.
He also paid tribute to all the candidates and political parties who contributed to the success of the first free and democratic vote in Libya, and to the almost two million men and women who exercised their hard-won right to vote.
"NATO is proud of the role that we played, together with our partners, in protecting the Libyan people under the mandate of the United Nations Security Council. We look forward to working with Libya's new leaders, including the elected National Congress. NATO stands ready to assist, if requested, in building the modern security and defense institutions that the new Libya needs," he added.
Election results declared on Tuesday indicated that the National Forces Alliance of former interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril secured 39 of the 80 seats set aside for political parties in the 200-member Constitutional Assembly, pushing Muslim Brotherhood's Justice and Construction Party to a distant second place.
The Assembly will now oversee the drafting of a new Constitution and formation of a government that would replace the present governing National Transitional Council (NTC), which came to power last year after the previous regime was overthrown in an armed rebellion.
The latest developments come after the autocratic regime of Col. Moammar Qadhafi was ousted in a NATO-backed armed rebellion in August 2011. Qadhafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years with an iron fist, was captured and subsequently shot dead on October 20, 2011 by revolutionary fighters on the outskirts of his hometown Sirte.
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