UN urges Libyans to participate in constitution-making process

Elections across Libya on Thursday are an opportunity for voters to have their voices heard and contribute to a new national constitution, the top U.N. official in the North African country said. The elections, the second held since the 2011 revolution that ousted Muammar Qadhafi, are to select a 60-member assembly that will draft a new constitution. "I trust that all who can will participate today in a peaceful and mindful manner," Tarek Mitri, the special representative of the U.N. secretary-general, said, adding that Libyans have sacrificed "so much" for and since the revolution. After being selected in Thursday's vote, the constitutional assembly will have 120 days to draft a new constitution. The document then will be submitted to a popular referendum.