Mahmoud Jibril urges unity among parties, calls for national dialogue

Libya's former interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril has urged all contesting parties to come together, calling for national unity talks.

Electoral authorities in Libya are currently finalising the vote count from Libya's first free polls in decades. The National Forces Alliances (NFA) led by Jibril are said to be set for victory as preliminary unofficial figures say his coalition is trending well.

"We extend an honest call for a national dialogue to come all together in one coalition, under one banner... to reach a compromise, a consensus on which the constitution can be drafted and the new government can be composed," Jibril said.

"There was no loser and winner at all. Whoever is going to win, Libya is the real winner of those elections."

The spokesman for Jibril's coalition in Benghazi said initial information indicated it had garnered the most votes in the region.

But Jibril said the NFA, which he described as a nationalist movement with a broad spectrum of identities and ideologies, would wait for official results.

Meanwhile, Malta's foreign minister Tonio Borg has welcomed the democratic elections taking place in Libya, saying that public consultation strengthened Libya's transition towards a true democratic society.

"It is important that the process continues in serenity. Libya now needs a democratic constitution and the setting up of the first government with democratic credentials," Borg said.

He added that Malta would continue to help its neighbouring country and it would also be urging the European Union to help during this process.