Call for poll boycott in eastern Libya

[iolsa]

Tripoli, Libya - The head of eastern Libya's self-declared semiautonomous region is calling for a boycott of next month's national vote for an assembly to form a government and prepare for a new constitution.

Ahmed al-Zubair charged Friday that the vote is just another tool to "marginalize" the east.

It's a sign of the tribal and political factionalism that plagues Libya after the fall of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi last year.

The uprising against Gadhafi began in Benghazi, eastern Libya's main city, where people charge Gadhafi's regime in the western part  of the country discriminated against them.

Eastern leaders say nothing has changed.

On March 7, tribal leaders and commanders of militia groups in eastern Libya set up a semi-independent region, leading to fears that Libya could fragment into several states. - Sapa-AP



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