Democratic Party
الحزب الديمقراطي
ChairpersonMohamed Sowan
FounderAhmed Shebani
Founded14 July 2011
Preceded byLibyan Freedom and Democracy Campaign
IdeologyLiberalism
Secularism
Minority rights
Political positionCentre to centre-left
Slogan"Freedom and democracy for the Libyan people"

The Democratic Party (Arabic: الحزب الديمقراطي) is a political party in Libya launched by the Libyan Freedom and Democracy Campaign on 14 July 2011 to represent the aspirations of the Libyan people in post-Gaddafi and post-National Transitional Council elections.[1]

Ideology

The DPL's doctrine is a secularist and liberal one. It shares most of the policies of its predecessor, like supporting the National Transitional Council only as a useful expedient to help the transition to democracy, but noting that it does not have legal legitimacy,[2] the transition to democracy in Libya to be overseen by a United Nations commission similar to the Adriaan Pelt commission at the end of World War II which oversaw the independence of Libya.[3] The party has pro-Israeli points like the recognition of Israel[4] It also supports freedom of return for Libyan Jews. The Democratic Party also support the separation of religion and statehood, with Freedom of conscience and respect for all religions[5] as the best way to defeat Islamic extremism and Al-Qaeda.[6]

The party is currently working with many think tanks such as the club of Madrid, the Gorbachev Foundation and The Westminster Foundation for Democracy, to achieve its aims.

References

  1. ^ Ranj Alaaldin (31 July 2011). "Libya's Unraveling Opposition". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ Ahmed Shebani (18 March 2011). "Gaddafi is not the only potential dictator in Libya".
  3. ^ Ahmed Shebani (15 March 2011). "Calls for return of Adrian Pelt commission for Libya".
  4. ^ "The Democratic Party adheres to the policy of recognizing the state of Israel according to the Arab Peace Initiative that was presented to The Beirut Arab Summit by king Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and adopted by it. This policy of recognizing Israel follows the Turkish and Egyptian examples. The DP also adopts the two states solution which upholds the legitimate rights of the Palestinians" see [1] Archived 2011-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Libyan Democratic Party (14 July 2011). "Press release on the establishment of the Democratic Party". Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  6. ^ "How to defeat Al-Qaida in Libya". Libyan Freedom and Democracy Campaign Web Site. Archived from the original on 2011-06-16.

External links

Political parties in Libya
Libyan civil war (2011)
Categories