President Obama issued the following statement, congratulating Libya for holding elections yesterday:

“On behalf of the American people, I extend my congratulations to the people of Libya for another milestone on their extraordinary transition to democracy. After more than 40 years in which Libya was in the grip of a dictator, today’s historic election underscores that the future of Libya is in the hands of the Libyan people. Across Libya today, voters turned out to exercise their hard-earned freedoms, most participating in an election for the first time in their lives. They cast ballots for representatives of a National Congress that will lead the next stage of Libya’s transition.