Libyan Revolutionary Leaders to declare formal victory

Libya’s new leaders are to declare the country’s liberation just three days following the death of the nation’s long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The declaration of liberation comes on Sunday after months of intense fighting between forces loyal to Gaddafi and revolutionary forces that began in mid-February, when an uprising began, the Associated Press reported.

According to the National Transitional Council (NTC) officials, the declaration of liberation was expected on Saturday but spokesman Abdel-Rahman Busin said preparations were under way for a Sunday ceremony in the eastern city of Benghazi, the revolution’s birthplace.

The transitional leadership says it will declare a new interim government within a month and elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months to be followed by a parliamentary and presidential vote within a year.

Earlier, acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said he planned to resign after the liberation declaration, adding that the interim government should remain in charge until the first presidential election.

Gaddafi was killed in his hometown of Sirte on Thursday, eight months into an uprising that put an end to his 42 years as dictator.

In August, the fighters wrested command of Tripoli and Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziyah compound in the capital.

Gaddafi is the first Arab dictator to lose his life in the wave of popular uprisings that swept across North Africa and the Middle East in the last days of 2010.