Addis Ababa - The Africa Union (AU) has welcomed what it has described as the successful conduction of elections in Libya.
In a statement, AU chairperson Jean Ping said the high turnout for the elections to elect a General National Congress in Libya "bear testimony to the commitment by the Libyan people and political stakeholders to pluralism and democracy".
A reported 65 percent of registered voters in Libya cast their vote in a national election - the country's first since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for more than four decades.
Ping encouraged Libyans to "stay the course" in order to successfully complete the ongoing transition taking place in the country.
As part of the AU's support of transition in the North African country, the AU dispatched an election observer mission led by Essaq Sharaf, former Prime Minister of Egypt.
