Libya: moderates claim lead in elections The National Forces Alliance, headed by the former rebel prime minister and Gaddafi-era official, Mahmoud Jibril, was "leading the polls in the majority of constituencies," according to its secretary-general, Faisal Krekshi. Official results will not be available for days, but even Mr Jibril's Islamist opponents appeared to concede that they had been defeated. The NFA achieved good results in some large cities except Misurata. They have a net lead in Tripoli and Benghazi," said Mohammed Sawan, leader of the Justice and Construction party, one of the main Islamic groupings. In a possible sign of future tensions, the NFA announced that it would sue Libya's most senior Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti, Sheikh Sadiq al-Ghiryani, for issuing a pre-election fatwa against his party. The edict ordered voters not to support the NFA, but does not appear to have done the moderates any harm. Turnout in the election was estimated at 62 per cent, with a few polling stations still voting into yesterday because of disruption on polling day itself. In Benghazi, where a boycott had been feared and a polling station was attacked, turnout was given as 70 per cent. In Tripoli, celebratory gunfire and fireworks went on for hours into Saturday night. Nuri Al-Abbar, chairman of the Libyan election commission, said that participation in the vote in all cities had been "good," describing the election as "successful, amid an atmosphere of joy among all the Libyans, despite some obstacles in some areas which were immediately overcome" Even in one of the most troubled spots, the eastern town of Ajdabiyah, clashes between backers and opponents of the elections failed to prevent them passing off "smoothly," according to al-Abbar. President Barack Obama praised the conduct of the election while William Hague, the foreign secretary, called it a "landmark moment." Any NFA victory, if confirmed, would be a deep disappointment for Libyan Islamists, who had been widely predicted to win in the same way as their counterparts in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia. But Libyan politics remains embryonic, resisting simple divisions. During the election, Mr Jibril's NFA rejected secularism, promising to rule according to Islamic values and sharia law. The main Islamist groupings, meanwhile, stressed their commitment to women's rights and used pictures of unveiled women on their election posters. Party-controlled seats also account for only 40 per cent of the new 200-seat congress. Attention may now switch to the political allegiances of the 120 elected "independent" members, not all of whom are genuinely independent.