Political Participation & Leadership

Source: African Elections Project 
Libya's Parliamentary results released last Tuesday indicates that 32 women were elected from the parties and one an independent candidate, said Samira Massoud, acting president of the Libyan Women's Union (a growing national organization with membership in the thousands).

The tally gives women 16.5 percent representation in the 200-member transitional authority. Massoud added that unlike sisters in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, women in Libya, an oil-rich and sparsely populated desert country where tribal traditions remain strong, had almost no political history under Gadhafi or much experience in civil society activism.

Women made up 45 percent, 1.3 million of the registered voters in this election and turned out in high numbers to vote. Election commissioners provided separate polling booths for men and women. In the run-up to elections, major parties across the spectrum endorsed a greater role for women in the next government.