Until we know more about the 120 individual candidates it is too early to assume defeat for the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, but perhaps the mood of the audience at the official announcement of preliminary results for Libya's General National Congress Elections is telling. Those watching last night on Al Jazeera Mubasher will have noticed the distinct lack of applause in the room for the names of winning candidates from the Muslim Brotherhood's Justice and Construction Party (JCP), whereas victories for the National Forces Alliance and the National Front were met with applause. Out of the 80 seats for party lists, the National Forces Alliance took 39 seats and the affiliated National Centrist Party has another two for a total of at least 41 seats for the Alliance. The Justice and Construction Party came in second with 17 seats, and the National Front (curiously more popular than the JCP among those invited to attend the announcement) came in third with three seats. As party leaders scramble to form alliances and bring winning individual candidates to their side after yesterday's announcement, the JCP's Mohammed Sawan has changed his tune from likening Mahmud Jibril to Muammar Qadhafi to looking to be more cooperative. The Libya Herald has the story - Mohammed Sawan Signals Retreat over Previous Stance towards National Forces Alliance.The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Justice & Construction Party, Mohammed Sawan, has conceded that collaboration with Mahmoud Jibril’s National Forces Alliance may be inevitable if his party is not to be relegated to opposition in the National Congress.Asked if he still believed the Justice & Construction party could form a government without the NFA, Sawan told the Libya Herald earlier today that “theoretically it’s possible, but we are not looking to do that in practice”.
Preliminary Election Results are In