Tripoli, 4 September:
Between 25 and 35 independent members of the National Congress have united to form coalition bloc, in the first such formal move of its kind.
The Congressmen are believed to be towards the moderate end of the political spectrum, although they represent a range of different backgrounds.
They are also rumoured to be supporting Mohammed Barween for prime minister, the man credited with successfully organising Misrata’s local council elections in February.
When asked about the group and whether or not he enjoyed their support, Barween told the Libya Herald this evening that he knew little about them and was not sure who they would support to be prime minister.
It is also not clear whether the group intends to present a united front on all issues or just specific ones.
120 of the 200 members of Congress are independents and the extent to which they choose to congregate into groups, and whether those groups will be aligned with the parties or independent of them, remains to be seen. Such blocs could well be key determining the future direction of the Congress across a range of issues. [/restrict]
