Libya drops ban on parties based on religion,tribal or ethnic lines

"The ban had been announced (on April 24) to test public reactions," an NTC member said in reference to the earlier version which had come under fire from Islamists and federalists, AFP reported.

The NTC has promised to organise the constituent elections by the end of June. Many new parties have been launched since January. There have been  arguments between Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib and some members of the NTC but  Mustapha Abdel Jalil the head of the NTC has announced that the elections will go ahead, according to reports from AFP.

Registration centres opened throughout the country on 1 May, and voters have two weeks in which to register. Some western diplomats speculate that elections may be delayed till the summer according to the BBC.

These will be the first elections in decades and given the divisions and turmoil in Libya with conflict between miltias, tribes and central government and calls for federalism. Organising  them will be a major task, however there is a clear intention to go ahead.