By Frederic Wehrey Libya’s population will head to the polls for the country’s first nationwide parliamentary elections on July 7—a landmark event in a country where public involvement in political life was strictly forbidden during the forty-two years of Qaddafi’s reign. Despite multiple warnings from outside commentators, the specters of [...]

By Wolfram Lacher “Eastern Libya declares autonomy.” In spite of international headlines such as this one, talk of the country’s impending disintegration is misleading. Although the participants at the March 6 Barqa Conference (Barqa is the Arabic name for Cyrenaica, or the region of northeastern Libya) claimed the right to [...]

By Asmaa Elourfi Dr Ali Abdussalam Tarhouni left Libya more than three decades ago, only to return last year in the wake of the Benghazi uprising. He served as the National Transitional Council’s oil and finance minister before briefly assuming the post of interim prime minister. Tarhouni recently created a [...]

By Sean Kane Benghazi is back in the headlines. On March 6, the capital of Libya’s 2011 uprising hosted a reported 3,000 tribal figures and leaders from the eastern half of the country. Seeking to marry eastern Libya’s status as the historical seat of the country’s pre-Qaddafi federal monarchy with [...]

Photo by: Ema TRIPOLI — Libyan authorities said on Thursday that they have amended the constitution-making process to allow for greater regional representation. Libya is on track to elect a constituent assembly in June. The assembly would appoint a committee of 60 experts to draft a new constitution which would be [...]

By Ismail Suayah “Now is not the time for Libya to experiment with federalism – not when it is struggling to maintain its fragile unity,” On March 6, factions in eastern Libya gathered in the city of Benghazi to revive federalism, a system previously adopted in Libya in 1951 when [...]

By Fatimah Elfeitori ( @Bint_Bengo ) After February the 17th 2011, political movements in all forms enriched the political scene in Libya. Many issues and topics of importance started to prevail in every day discussions, both on the ground and over the internet. One of these important topics is the [...]

By Alex Warren Last week’s declaration from Benghazi, which saw some 3,000 people sign a statement in favour of greater autonomy in the north-east, has sparked heated debate about the future political structure of post-Gaddafi Libya. It has in particular prompted much alarmism, both in the international press and within [...]

Benghazi Local Council has said that it is opposed to the Cyrenaica National Council announced following a mass meeting in the city on Tuesday. In a statement on Wednesday morning, it said it had not participated in the conference and would not recognize the Cyrenaica council. It said it would [...]

Tripoli already has moved for decentralization of Libya’s government, Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib said Wednesday, one day after tribal and political leaders in eastern Libya demanded an autonomous federal state. “Everybody is frustrated, we are working on that,” El-Keib said in response to a question on eastern autonomy after [...]

Photograph: Mohamed Elryani/EPA Federalism, federalism….hmmm is it really about federalism? Certain policies of decentralising have their merit, less corruption, more transparency and more representative representation. Polices of centralizing have merit as well, efficiency, productivity and thus a greater relevance at a world stage. Obviously these points are gross exaggerations, all [...]

By Salim Almontasser 1- عند تتبع جذور كلمة فيدرالية في اللغة اللاتينية نجد أنها ترتبط بمعنى الاتحاد، وسؤالي للفيدراليين هل الاتحاد يكون للمقسّم أم للموّحد؟ فإن كان الجواب هو الأول كما هو المتوقّع، فهل ليبيا مقسّمة الآن لكي نوحّدها أم أنّ علينا أن نقسمها أولا لكي نتمكن من توحيدها على [...]