An already turbulent Libyan political scene has been thrown into further turmoil by the contentious Law of Political Isolation, approved by the General National Congress (GNC) on 5 May. Those who held key (but unspecified) official posts during the Qadhafi era (1969-2011) face a 10-year bar from political office. The law will affect a number of senior politicians who were leading figures in 2011’s revolution, including Prime Minister ‘Ali Zidan, GNC President Muhammad Magraif, former prime minister Muhammad Jibril and NTC chairman Mustafa ‘Abd al-Jalil.
Mr Jibril, head of the National Forces Alliance, the largest party in parliament, is viewed as a key target of the law, which was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Justice and Constitution Party, the second largest political group in the GNC. The law was also supported by the Islamist al-Wafa Block: the two Islamist parties see it as a means to oust the main figures in the current administration, whom they consider pro-Western. (CONTINUED - 394 WORDS)
