Voters Head to Polling Stations to Elect 60 Member Constitution Committee

\n Tripoli, 20 February 2014(LANA) Polling stations opened across Libya on Thursday where more than one million registered voters were expected to cast their ballots to choose the 60 member committee that would be responsible for drawing up a constitution for a country which under the dictatorial regime of Gaddafi was run without a constitution for more than four decades.\n 649 candidates will be elected to the committee including 64 women. They are divided over the country main three regions, the Western, the Eastern and the Southern with 60 members each, five seats were reserved to women in each region, and six to the Amazigh, Tabo and Tuareg.\n 1577 polling stations were opened at 8.00 local time throughout the country, the High National Election Committee said in a statement to the press, adding that a central pool was set up in addition to 17 others in different electoral committees with the aim of ensuring a smooth and secure voting process.\n 1.101.541 voters have registered for these elections including 449.501 women across the country, the Commission said.\n More than 5300 local and foreign observers are taking part in elections, it added.\n The Commission also said that 16 polling stations were set up for the displaced people, 20 for the oil fields workers and one for the rehabilitation centre in Benghazi.\n These elections are the second to be conducted in Libya since the ouster of the regime of Muamar Gaddafi in August 2011.\n The first elections of the General National Congress were conducted in July 7, 2012.\n Voting for Libyans abroad was conducted on Feb 15 to 17, where 2747 voters took part in the ballot held in 13 courtiers.\n =LANA=\n