Libyans to get constitution offer after crisis

Mohamed Zwei, head of the General People's Congress, said: "The draft was given to us recently. We have a legal committee that must examine the text before submitting it to the Basic People's Congresses" (local parliaments) as laid down in leader Muammar Gaddafi's theory of "people's power."

"The BPCs will revise the articles of the constitution and carry out amendments as desired once the situation in the country calms down," he added.

On February 21, a few days after the insurrection began, Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam had said the parliament would meet shortly to decide on a new penal code and new laws giving more freedom to the press and civil society, as well as "starting a dialogue on a constitution."

The Libyan government formed a judicial committee at the end of 2008 to examine a text drawn up by the Gaddafi Foundation headed by Seif al-Islam.

Ibrahim Moukhzam, committee member and expert in constitutional law, told a press conference that it would be a "modern constitution" inspired by "dozens of European and Third World countries' constitutions."