Libya: Muslim Brother picked to lead new party

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Libya: Muslim Brother picked to lead new party

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Mohammed Sawan was elected leader of the Justice and Construction party by 51 percent.

03 March,2012 08:24 pm

Libyan Islamists and independents have formed a new political party and elected a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday as its leader after a three-day conference, an AFP reporter said.Mohammed Sawan, an ex-political prisoner under the regime of dead dictator Moamer Kadhafi who outlawed the formation of political parties as an act of treason, was elected leader of the Justice and Construction party by 51 percent of those present.I have real mixed feelings because I was imprisoned under Kadhafi for my attempts to create a political part,y and I am grateful to the people here who have placed their trust in me, Sawan told AFP.The meeting in the capital brought together hundreds of people keen to take part in the launch of the new party. Votes were taken on a wide range of issues, including the partys name, by a show of hands.The partys programme is still under discussion, but Muslim Brothers, Islamists and independents came together for the conference with the shared aim of forming a national party with an Islamic frame of reference.We aim for diversity and a state of law where differences in opinion are respected, Sawan said. There may be no law governing the formation of political parties in the new Libya, but political associations and coalitions are forming at a rapid pace.In a country where political organisations of any kind were banned for decades under the iron-fisted rule of Kadhafi, who was toppled and killed in last years popular uprising, these are crucial steps on the path to political development.