Libya issues election law for national congress

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya has finalized a law to govern an election to choose a national assembly to draft a new constitution — a first step to setting up a new government after the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The law was issued Wednesday after earlier drafts were revised to accommodate criticism.

The new law determines that the 200-member national congress will include at least 40 women, doubling the number of women in an earlier draft. The body is supposed to be elected before June 23.

The new elected body will manage the country's affairs for a year and will draft Libya's new constitution.

Under Gadhafi's rule, Libya had no working parliament for four decades.