By REUTERS ARABNEWS

Published: Jan 20, 2012 18:54 Updated: Jan 20, 2012 23:16

TRIPOLI: Libya will scrap a proposal for 10 percent of seats in a new national assembly to be set aside for women, a Western diplomat who is engaged in discussions with the Libyan election committee told Reuters on Friday.

The new, 200-member assembly is set to be elected in June to draw up a constitution after the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi last year.

Last month, the interim ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) posted a draft election law on its website and asked people to comment on it as part of a plan to engage the population in the democratic process. The draft called for 20 seats to be set aside for women.

“After the draft election law was posted on the NTC website for feedback from the public, 80 percent of the 14,000 e-mails received (by the NTC) were against the quota, including women’s rights groups,” the diplomat said.

Some Libyan women’s rights groups still support the quota, and say it should be made higher – perhaps more than 50 percent to reflect a majority female population in the country.

Among other changes from the original draft, members of parliament will be elected from separate constituencies, rather than competing countrywide.

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