Outgoing leader says Islamists won't rule Libya

Published November 20, 2014

Libya's outgoing leader describes the recently-held parliamentary elections as a "miracle" and says he doesn't expect Islamists to rule the country.

However, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil says the Islamists will play a role in the country's politics but that Libya will not follow the Tunisian or Egyptian models.

He spoke after the first postelection session of the National Transitional Council on Wednesday. The NTC, which took over after Moammar Gadhafi's ouster, will be dissolved once the 200-newly elected parliament is seated.

Partial results trickling in since polls closed Saturday indicate that an alliance founded by liberal former prime minister is leading the polls.

This could mean that Islamist parties won't have the majority of assembly seats — a major setback to their surge following last year's Arab Spring uprisings.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/world/outgoing-leader-says-islamists-wont-rule-libya