Libya to Declare 'Liberation' Tomorrow

Elections will follow in months; Gadhafi still on ice
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 22, 2011 10:01 AM CDT
Libya to Declare 'Liberation' Tomorrow
Libyans celebrate the death of Gadhafi in Misrata.   (AP Photo/David Sperry)

Libya's new leaders say they will declare liberation tomorrow, a move that will start the clock for elections after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of Moammar Gadhafi. The National Transitional Council is expected to hold elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months, then organize parliamentary and presidential votes within a year after that.

All this comes as Gadhafi's body remains in a commercial freezer pending an investigation into how he died. A spokesman for the Misrata military council ruled out a full autopsy unless demanded by an international committee or the transitional government, "and so far there have been no requests." A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the images of his last moments were disturbing: "More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in some form of fighting or was executed after his capture." (More Libya stories.)

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