Leader urges election boycott in eastern Libya

Ahmed al-Zubair claimed that the elections are just another tool to "marginalize" the east.

His call is a sign of the tribal and political factionalism that plagues Libya after the fall of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi last year.

The uprising against Gadhafi began in Benghazi, eastern Libya's main city, where people have long complained that Gadhafi's regime in the western part of the country discriminated against them.

Eastern leaders say nothing has changed since the toppling of Gadhafi's rule.

"We don't want to be part of the national congress. It's just another form of marginalization by the West," al-Zubair said.

It is not clear to what extend his call for a boycott of the June vote would resonate among the easterners, who like Libyans elsewhere are eager to move forward with a new government and constitution.

Top tribal leaders and commanders of militia groups in eastern Libya in March set up a semi-independent region named Barqa, leading to fears that Libya could fragment into several states. Barqa would cover nearly half the country, from the center to the Egyptian border in the east and south to the borders with Chad and Sudan. The state would have its own parliament, police force, courts and capital in Benghazi, the country's second largest city after Tripoli.