What I saw at the polling stations in Benghazi on Saturday was amazing: The spirit of the people, the happiness in their eyes, the smiles.
Some had never voted in their lives.
I even saw a blind man making the effort, helped out by Benghazi election committee workers at Tarik Ben Zyad school.
Another voter was holding the hand of his elderly mother; both were smiling, you just sensed how happy they were after they dipped their fingers in the durable ink.
Flanked by a phalanx of bodyguards the Libyan leader walked to the podium to take over the presidency of the Arab League.
It is seldom that personal security has been quite so evident in a forum such as this, the opening of the summit meeting of the organisation taking place in Muammer Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte.
Yet in his opening address the Arab world's longest serving leader made clear that no amount of protection could shield leaders from a growing public expectation and demand.
"We can no longer hide or seek refuge behind our security apparatus," he said. "Because they have become futile in the face of popular uprising and resistance."
The apparent contradiction between word and action is part of the complex person that is Gaddafi. A man who through decades has continued to surprise, shock and anger with a series of controversial pronouncements and deeds.
![[QODLink]](http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2012/5/24/2012524105149565734_16.jpg "The Brotherhood and Mubarak")
