For the first time since 1964, Libyans will be holding a national election today. When one considers that their revolutionary war ended a mere eight months ago and that these elections are self-organized, this is a truly momentous achievement. There will, of course, be setbacks and challenges for the Libyan people en route from full-blown dictatorship to full representative democracy. Some will try to sabotage the will of the people, others will try to manipulate, but they can't change the fact that the Libyans have achieved tremendous progress and that they now will be represented by a democratic government for the first time in their history.
It all began in February of last year, when Libyans surprised both the Gaddafi Regime and the world by going to the streets and protesting for their rights in virtually every town and city across Libya. For those who missed it, I wrote a diary in June of last year which includes a video that shows how Libyans first began democratically expressing their voice in protests across the nation:
TUE JUN 28, 2011
The Most Incredible Video of the Libyan Revolution
by Lawrence
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then this video about the early days of the Libyan Revolution speaks millions. Not only does it clearly show that the Revolution was initially peaceful, but also that it was an uprising that took place in basically every major town and city in Libya.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
What started in February of last year culminates in today's national election for the first freely and fairly elected national government in the history of Libya. This is what the Libyan people fought for. This is what they suffered for. This is what tens of thousands of Libyans died for.
For the Libyans and for those who invested their hearts in supporting them, this is a day for celebration and a day for remembering and cherishing those who lost their lives so that others could celebrate this historic day.
Personally, I would like to thank the Libyan people for reminding us of just how valuable democracy is.
Thank you, Libya. I won't forget the valuable lessons that you taught me.
2:45 AM PT: Getty Images has a series of photos from early voting in Libya.
http://www.daylife.com/...
6:02 AM PT: Update #2 - Reuters has an interesting article up about what the elections mean to Libyans and, specifically, how a twice-jailed dissident writer feels about finally being able to vote:
http://www.reuters.com/...
The Free Generation Movement has a great photo up on Facebook that shows the festive voting atmosphere in Tripoli. I'm sure they'll be posting lots of photo and video updates throughout the day:
http://www.facebook.com/...
8:49 AM PT: Update #3 - News agencies are reporting high turnout in the elections, and a festive atmosphere, despite some attempts at disruption in some polling stations in eastern Libya. An interesting article about voting in Zawiya, from the Tripoli Post:
"Voting Day in Libya Takes the Form of Festivity"
07/07/2012 14:23:00
http://www.tripolipost.com/...
11:39 AM PT: Final Update - The polls have closed and international election observers generally seem to be pretty impressed with the elections. I'll end by quoting John Stremlau, an election observer for the Carter Center:
“No election is ever easy, and for a country that has been so isolated for so long, is building state institutions so quickly, it's remarkable how much progress has been made in 11 months. Truly extraordinary. It should be a source of pride to the Libyan people; they have come so far so quickly.”
http://blogs.voanews.com/...