Libya election results put secular, liberal alliance first

July 8, 2012: Mahmoud Jibril speaks to the media during a presser at National Forces Allies head quarter in Tripoli, Libya. (AP)

TRIPOLI, Libya – Final Libyan election results show a secular, liberal alliance in first place in the nation's first free vote in decades.

It's a rare Arab Spring setback for Islamists, who won elections in Egypt and Tunisia, but they still have a chance to share rule.

The election commission says former interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril's National Forces Alliance won 39 seats, while the Muslim Brotherhood's Justice and Construction party came in second with 17 seats among those allocated for parties.

The balance of power lies with the remaining 120 seats allocated for independent candidates, whose affiliations are not clear.

The election commission said late Tuesday that 62 percent of registered voters took part July 7 in the first election after Moammar Gadhafi's 42-year reign ended last year in a civil war.