Justice and Construction Party
| Justice and Construction Party حزب العدالة والبناء Hizb Al-Adala Wal-Bina |
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| Leader | Mohamed Sowan |
| Spokesperson | Mohamed Gaair |
| Founded | 3 March 2012 |
| Ideology | Islamism, Islamic democracy, Conservatism |
| International affiliation | Muslim Brotherhood |
| Colors | Blue, Gold |
| Seats in the General National Congress: |
17 / 200
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| Website | |
| http://www.ab.ly | |
The Justice and Construction Party[1][2] or Justice and Development Party (Arabic: حزب العدالة والبناء, Hizb Al-Adala Wal-Bina)[3] is the Muslim Brotherhood's political party in Libya. It was officially founded on 3 March 2012 in Tripoli. The party advocates Islamism.
Mohamed Sowan of Misrata heads the party, while Mohamed Gaair is its spokesman.
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History [edit]
The Libyan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1949, however it had not been able to operate openly until after the Libyan civil war. A public conference was held for the first time in Libya on 17 November 2011 and attended by Libyan Muslim Brotherhood leader Suleiman Abdelkader and Tunisia's Rashid Ghannouchi.[4] On 24 December, 2011, the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood announced an intention to form a political party to contest the Public National Conference election scheduled for June, 2012.[5]
The official founding of the party was declared on 3 March, 2012, despite the lack of electoral laws governing the foundation of political parties to run in elections. The Libyan Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman, Mohamed Gaair, said the party was launched in Tripoli after a function attended by 1,400 representatives from over 18 cities. A former political prisoner Mohamed Sowan of Misrata was chosen as the inaugural head of the party. Significantly, Misrata was a hotbed of violence during the civil war and its people are also considered to have become distrustful of the central government's institutions based outside the city (since the founding leaders from the oil-rich region have called for autonomy for the wider Cyrenaica region; a move that was opposed by others in Tripoli and Benghazi[6]). Gaair added that many of the Muslim Brotherhood's leaders were either previously jailed or sent into exile. Though there are several members who fought against the government during the civil war, it does not have any officials in the National Transitional Council's interim government. Amongst its supporter base are several other rebel leaders from the civil war and wealthy Libyan expatriates who returned after the war. The party is said to be the country's most organised political force,[7] similar to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which won a plurality in the Egyptian parliamentary election, 2011–2012 after its own revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak from power.
Ideology [edit]
The Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman Mohamed Gaair said that the party would seek "to work on security and stability. We are still a new founded party, but we will work on the basis of Islamic principles and that doesn't mean the shallow meaning of religion most people think of like banning women from leaving home. This is not rational." This followed an announcement by the NTC's interim government that Sharia law was to be the foundation for new Libyan legislation.[7]
Election results [edit]
Justice and Construction competed in the Libyan General National Congress election, 2012. It received 10% of the vote and won 17 of the 80 party-list seats, placing second behind the National Forces Alliance. It is also estimated that 17 of the 120 independents in the GNC are associated with Justice and Construction. [8]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
Notes
- ^ "Muslim Brotherhood formally launches party". Libya Herald. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ Soguel, Dominique (3 March 2012). "Muslim Brother picked to lead new Libya party". Times of India (Tripoli). Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ Haimzadeh, Patrick (3 July 2012), "Libya’s Unquiet Election", Middle East Online
- ^ Murphy, Francois (17 November 2011). "Muslim Brotherhood goes public with Libya summit". Benghazi. Reuters. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ "Muslim Brotherhood to Contest Libyan Elections as Independent Party". The Tripoli Post. 24 December 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ "Thousands rally in Libya against autonomy for east". Reuters. 9 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Muslim Brotherhood forms party in Libya". Al Jazeera. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ http://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/research_papers/2013_RP04_lac.pdf
External links [edit]
- Official website (Arabic)
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