Libya: Troubled Transition to Democracy
Libya, an oil-rich Northern African nation, has been in the news for more than a year now since the popular revolt, inspired by the Arab Spring, began in February 2011. The protests began in Benghazi and rapidly spread to the capital, Tripoli, and other locations. The people of Libya, who suffered for more than 40 years under the dictatorial rule of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, finally succeeded in ousting him in August 2011 with the help of the larger international community. He was killed in his hometown of Sirte on October 20, 2011 by opposition rebels. The country was formally declared liberated on October 23 by a provisional government, the National Transitional Council (NTC), which named Abdel Rahim el-Keeb as the interim prime minister. In the following months, efforts were made to lay the foundation for democracy by holding the first national election to a new National Assembly that was to oversee the process of democratisation. The National Assembly, under its president Mohammed Magarief, will hold full parliamentary elections in Libya after a new constitution is drafted by 2013.
It certainly seems that the transition to democracy has been very smooth. However, contrary to popular perceptions, the transition to democracy has not been very smooth in Libya as the events of this process illustrate. For example, within months of the NTC taking over, clashes have erupted between former rebel forces in Benghazi. Dissatisfied with the slow pace of change under the NTC, the militia leaders resorted to violence on the streets, targeting suspected Gaddafi loyalists, and even attacking and kidnapping members of the ruling government.1 Adding to the woes, sectarian clashes have erupted between Arab Zawi and African Tebu groups in the Al-Kufra region of south-east Libya, which resulted in the deaths of scores of people in February 2012. Further, some NTC officials have launched a campaign to re-establish autonomy in the oil-rich eastern region, further increasing the law and order tensions of the central government. Close to the scheduled national elections on June 19, armed rebels attacked the Tripoli headquarters of Libya’s interim prime minister in May. These attackers were militiamen from the Nafusah mountains south-west of Tripoli, who were demanding bounty for their role in fighting against the Gaddafi forces. 2
Given this precarious security situation, Libya’s transitional government postponed the scheduled national election from June 19 to July 7, 2012 as a precautionary measure to avert further escalation of violence. However, the real reasons for postponement are debatable as critics argue that the elections were postponed since the transitional authorities could not complete the list of candidates for the election or put in place necessary arrangements for the election. On the other hand, tribal clashes have continued unabated with government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa reporting that 105 people were killed and about 500 injured in tribal clashes in western Libya, which includes the towns of Zintan, Mizdah and Shegayga. 3 Further, renewed tribal clashes between Toubou and Zwai tribesmen in the city of Kufra claimed at least 47 lives and left more than 100 others wounded. 4
Amidst these disruptive incidents, the first national election was held on July 7. Incidents of violence were reported on the day of voting as well at several polling stations especially in the eastern coastal region, where regional rivalries led to armed assaults on polling stations. In the southern city of Kufru, the polling was closed due to tribal conflict. At least two people were killed in election-related violence. Nevertheless, given the prevailing lawlessness, the largely peaceful election in the country received much appreciation from the Western powers as well as the international monitors who applauded the election as a “critical milestone” in the complicated transition towards democratic setup. 5 Boosting the morale of democratic forces and reversing the trend of the success of Islamist parties in the Arab Spring countries, the National Forces Alliance, a moderate coalition led by Mahmud Jibril, won the election by defeating the Muslim Brotherhood by a sizable margin. 6 Later, Mohammed Magarief of the National Front Party was elected as the president of the 200-member National Assembly to oversee democratic processes in Libya.
However despite these elections, there is no respite from violent incidents such as the one on August 19, 2012, in which two people were killed and three others injured when car bombs exploded outside security buildings in Tripoli. Though the authorities have arrested 32 people suspected of being supporters of Colonel Gaddafi, it is argued that the officials have routinely blamed Gaddafi loyalists for the violence. In the process, they overlook the fact that there are also tensions between former rebel fighters and Libya’s nascent government, which is struggling to create a new army of its own to integrate former rebels who took up arms during the revolt. Separately, under the command of Al-Mahdi al-Harati, one of Libya’s well known rebel commanders, more than 30 Libyan fighters have entered Syria and are supporting the Free Syrian Army rebels in their war against president Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
All these incidents highlight lack of effective control of the government over militias, in a country that has been divided on regional, factional and tribal lines. They highlight the strong differences between officials in Tripoli and the rebels on streets as well as the inability of the government to prevent the situation from descending into chaos where different groups are competing for power. Citing this security lag, the International Committee of the Red Cross suspended its work in Benghazi and Misurata from mid-August 2012.
This troubled transition to democracy in Libya could be attributed to various factors. Firstly, the long dictatorial rule of Colonel Gaddafi virtually denied political education and proper administrative training to a large section of the population. The previous administration had controlled Libyans in all spheres— social, economic, and political. As a result, the new government lacked experience and expertise in handling socioeconomic and administrative issues emanating from different sections.
Secondly, the Libyan citizens, who experienced true freedom after long authoritarian rule, hoped that the new government would control the situation quickly and end their insecurity. However, the NTC could not react swiftly enough to control chaos as the preventive mechanism for dealing with untoward incidents like tribal clashes is not put in place. Nevertheless, the dissatisfaction and anger at the performance of the government led to further violence. In fact, some of the earlier attacks highlighted the serious trust gap between the NTC and the Libyan people.
Thirdly, Libya is divided on regional, factional, and tribal lines, with members of each faction supporting their respective leaders. However, there is no coordination among these political factions and movements, which is very essential given the multi-dimensional aspects of the transition. It has resulted in the sidelining of pressing issues that otherwise might have been appreciated by the public. For example, Libya’s civil war hugely disrupted the economic activity by reducing oil output, which is the primary source of revenue. There are other socio-economic issues like extreme social inequality, high rates of youth unemployment and regional economic disparities. All these culminated in a slowdown of the economy, which contracted 41.8 per cent in 2011.
Finally, taking advantage of political vacuum created by the fall of the Gaddafi regime, the former militiamen who were instrumental in overthrowing that regime have started interfering in politics. They have transformed various regions of Libya into “semi-autonomous fiefs” and are exerting political influence in those regions. For example, the rebel leaders in Benghazi accuse the government of ignoring former fighters by not renewing security contracts that would provide salaries to these fighters.
Given the current situation, it will take some time to address the concerns of the various sections and integrate them into the democratic process. At the same time, rebuilding the nation requires the collective effort of various factions. Therefore, the government as well as various factions should prioritise nation building and make sure that the gains accrued are not lost.
- 1. The attack on the NTC deputy Abdel Hafid Gogha and also the attack on the NTC headquarters in Benghazi in January 2012 represent such violent incidents. See Mohamed Eljarh , “Assessment of the Recent Developments in the Post-Revolution Libya”, Middle East Online, January 25, 2012, at http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/ ?id=50243
- 2. “Libya- Revolution and Aftermath”, The New York Times, August 21, 2012, at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/ news/international/countriesandterritories/libya/index.html
- 3. The fighting was mainly between fighters from Zintan, backed by another tribe Guntrara from Mizdah, and armed members of the Mashashya tribe based in Shegayga. The clashes were triggered by the death of a man from Zintan after he was stopped at a checkpoint, which Zintan militias have blamed on the Mashashya tribe. See “Libya’s tribal clashes leave 105 dead”, BBC News, June 20, 2012, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18529139
- 4. Toubou tribal leader Hussein Sake blamed the outbreak of violence on rival Zwai tribesmen and their allies, who include the Libya Shield brigade, a force deployed by the interim government to act as a buffer between the conflicting camps. See Dominique Soguel, “South Libya clashes ‘kill 47’ in three days”, AFP, July 1, 2012, at http:// www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jTAH_316wKXoDX0bpTR_uNZggmQ?…
- 5. “US envoy Burns visits Libya after landmark vote”, AFP, July 14, 2012, at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ afp/article/ALeqM5iVudMmCBuWe0C9—j6rrN3CpawEA?docId=CNG.40992966a83ac7a41c76618c19df3ca9.601
- 6. The alliance gained 39 of 80 seats available to parties in the general national congress, whereas the Justice and Construction Party, founded by Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood, took 17 seats. See “Libya moderates beat Muslim Brotherhood in election”, Daily News & Analysis, July 19, 2012, at http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_libyamoderates-beat-muslim-brotherh…
