Polls opened on Saturday for Libya's first national elections in over four decades amid acts of sabotage in the east by protesters who feel their region is under-represented in the incoming congress.

In Tripoli, polling stations opened on schedule at 0500 GMT with lines of voters eager to elect the General National Congress, which will be at the helm of the country for a transition period, an AFP journalist said.

"Words cannot capture my joy, this is a historic day," said Fawziya Omran, 40, one of the first women in line at the Ali Abdullah Warith school at the heart of the capital. 

Voters turned up draped in black, red and green flags -- the colours adopted by revolutionaries who toppled long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi last year -- while mosques blasted chants of "God is Great."

(AFP)