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By Ashraf Abdul Wahab.
Tripoli, 7 October:
The first results have been announced in the elections for a new council in Sabratha which . . .[restrict]took place yesterday, Saturday. In the first district, Sabratha Town, the winning candidates were named as Massoud Bella’o, Hussein Musbah Madhouni and Deya-Uddin Gharabli. The fourth seat in the district is still undecided between Faraj Omar Shweya and Mohamed Emsalim.
The results for the other four districts, with 11 seats, are also awaited.
According to officials, more than 60 percent of registered voters took part. However, only 35 percent of potential voters had registered, which means that just 21 percent of potential voters went to the 23 polling stations to cast their votes. The stations opened at 8am and closed at 8pm.
According to observers, turnout during the morning was relatively low. However, it increased dramatically during the evening. No violations of any kind were reported. The heads of polling stations confirmed that the process had gone well.
There were a strong presence of local and other observers monitoring the contest as well as reporters from national media. However, the media committee of Sabratha’s local council was said to be absent. Sources in Sabratha claimed that the town’s culture office manager would not allow photographers from the committee to cover the event. [/restrict]
