BRUSSELS: Nato chief Anders Fog Rasmussen on Wednesday hailed Libya's elections as “an impressive step forward” in the country's road to democracy.

“I congratulate the Libyan people on the announcement of the results of the first election held accross the country in almost half a century,” Rasmussen said in a statement.

“This election marks an impressive step forward in Libya's transition to democracy, after over 40 years of dictatorship,” he added. Results issued Tuesday of the first poll since the ouster of Moamer Kadhafi showed Libya's liberal coalition beating fundamentalist parties.

The National Forces Alliance, a liberal coalition led by wartime prime minister Mahmud Jibril, gained 39 of 80 seats open to parties in the General National Congress, the first elected authority after more than four decades of dictatorship.

The Justice and Construction Party, which was launched by Libya's Muslim Brotherhood, took only 17 seats. The remainder of party seats went to a constellation of smaller parties, according to the electoral commission's preliminary figures.

“Nato is proud of the role that we played, together with our partners, in protecting the Libyan people under the mandate of the United Nations Security Council,” Rasmussen added, referring to the Nato-led campaign in Libya in 2011.

“Nato stands ready to assist, if requested, in building the modern security and defence institutions that the new Libya needs.”