Libya: Protesters attack Benghazi election office

Armed protesters have ransacked an election office in Benghazi, calling for more autonomy for Libya’s east.

With less than a week to go before elections, they are angry that the National Transitional Council and its leader Abdel Jalil have concentrated many of the assigned seats in Tripoli.

“Mustafa Abdel Jalil should have listened to the people’s demands, but this is how Abdel Jalil wants it…. if he stood with the people and talked to them, none of this would have happened,” said one protester.

According to population density, the new 200-member legislature will be divided up into 101 seats for Tripoli, 60 for the east and 39 for the rest of Libya.

A group proclaiming to represent the oil-rich eastern province of Cyrenaica has called for a boycott of Saturday’s vote.

In March, a rally in the province demanding more power turned violent, leaving one person dead.

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