Libyans head to the polls

Nine months after the end of Libya’s uprising, citizens will vote on July 7 in a national assembly election that will mark the first free vote since 1969, when Moammar Gaddafi began his 42-year autocratic rule.

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July 4, 2012

Electoral workers load ballot boxes onto a truck to be distributed to polling stations in Tripoli, Libya. Nine months after the end of Libya's uprising, investors and businesspeople hope Saturday's national assembly election will mark a new start for an economy that stagnated under Moammar Gaddafi's 42-year autocratic rule.

Zohra Bensemra / Reuters

July 4, 2012

A police officer secures a truck transporting voting materials at the entrance of a polling station in Tripoli.

Zohra Bensemra / Reuters

July 4, 2012

Libyans prepare ballot boxes in Benghazi as the nation prepares to vote on July 7 for a constituent assembly. It will be the first body elected since the ouster of Moammar Gaddafi and will be tasked with steering the country through its critical transition. Libya has not seen elections since the era of late monarch King Idris, making this vote a new experience for many in a country with a mostly young population.

Abdullah Doma / AFP/Getty Images

July 4, 2012

Majdah al-Fallah, left, and Hannan Bachir, candidates for the Justice and Construction Party, the political arm of the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood, walk past defaced posters of independent female candidates Ibtissam Hassan, left, and Zaineb Ali in Tripoli.

Zohra Bensemra / Reuters

July 4, 2012

A Libyan man stands near an elections banner at Martyr's Square in Tripoli.

Manu Brabo / AP

July 3, 2012

Salah Dau holds back tears as he waits to vote with fellow Libyan Canadians during the first day of Libyan elections in Ottawa. Canada is one of just six countries with Libyans living abroad that are making voting available. The others are the United States, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and the United Kingdom.

Sean Kilpatrick / AP

July 3, 2012

Asma Eshakshuki of Ottawa wipes away tears after casting her ballot during the first day of the Libyan National Congress Election. Canada is one of just six countries with Libyans living abroad that are making voting available.

Sean Kilpatrick / AP

July 3, 2012

A Libyan man living in Jordan casts his vote at a polling station in Amman. Libya's first election in more than half a century will take place on July 7, 18 days later than originally planned, because of the logistical challenges in a country recovering from last year's revolts.

Ali Jarekji / Reuters

July 3, 2012

A Libyan man living in Jordan shows his ink-stained finger after casting his vote at a polling station in Amman.

Ali Jarekji / Reuters

July 1, 2012

A protester helps to destroy computer parts set on fire outside the office of the national election commission in Benghazi. Armed protesters calling for greater autonomy for Libya's east stormed the area, burning materials and breaking computer equipment outside less than a week before the North African country holds an election.

Esam Omran Al-Fetori / Reuters

July 1, 2012

Protesters storm the office of the national election commission in Benghazi. About 300 men carried computers and ballot boxes from the building in Libya's second city and began crushing them while chanting pro-federalism slogans.

Esam Omran Al-Fetori / Reuters

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