Legislative elections and a new start in Libya?

The Libyan people will vote for a new legislature on Wednesday. They will vote for members to populate the new House of Representatives (HR). The HR will replace the massively controversial General National Congress (GNC), which was elected in 2012 and has come to be the focal point of all dissension in the country. The GNC, whose mandate expired in February, has struggled to present itself as the representative of the people and has stepped from one crisis to another. The latest was the illegal election of Ahmed Maetig, a Misratah businessman, as prime minister. The Islamist dominated GNC pushed through the appointment despite strong opposition and valid claims that the vote was unconstitutional. To many people's relief the decision was later overturned and accepted by Maetig. In the interim, however, General Haftar appeared and with hundreds of disaffected soldiers took on militia in the far east of the country in Benghazi. His rise was purportedly in response to his desire limit the influence of Islamists in the country; however, his connections to the US and the CIA have not gone unnoticed and have discredited his nationalist appeal somewhat. It is yet to be seen if Haftar will cease his attacks and return his troops to the legitimate military structures once the election is held and a new government is appointed.