TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya’s interim parliament on Thursday set Feb. 20 as the date for a national election to choose a 60-member panel to draft the country’s long overdue constitution, while clashes erupted in an eastern city between soldiers and a powerful militia after the abduction of a military commander’s son.

General National Congress head Nouri Abu Sahmein’s announcement of the date for elections gives new hopes for ending a political deadlock that had stymied the rocky transition to democracy following the overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Recommended Stories

What ‘never again’ actually requires

Voters prefer Democrat-controlled Congress days before elections, poll shows

Sen. Dan Sullivan vows to accept Alaska election results if defeated