Voters streamed into polling stations in Tripoli and across Libya Saturday, hoping the country's first multi-party elections in 60 years mark the start of a new era.

In some parts of the capital crowds began gathering more than an hour before polling places opened, amid scenes of jubilation and celebration seen in many major cities.

In Tripoli, voter Salah Algwarsh was overjoyed by the prospect of a new Libya free of the dictatorship of Moammar Gadhafi.

“It's a great, it's a great day for me because we had victory against Gadhafi and now we think we are very happy. We can build Libya now.”

Camilla Rafifi, another Tripoli voter, was equally ecstatic:

“It really was a big dream for me. I didn't expect this day in all my life, really. I'm very, very, very happy. This will be in the history. We didn't expect this before.”

For the most part, Saturday's vote appeared to be peaceful and well organized. That drew praise from election observers like John Stremlau from the U.S.-based Carter Center.

“No election is ever easy, and for a country that has been so isolated for so long, is building state institutions so quickly, it's remarkable how much progress has been made in 11 months. Truly extraordinary. It should be a source of pride to the Libyan people; they have come so far so quickly.”

Voters are electing members of a future 200-seat National Assembly, charged with forming a temporary government and drafting a constitution ahead of full parliamentary elections next year.

Election officials say 94 percent of all polling stations opened as planned. The only problems reported were in eastern Libya, including the cities of Benghazi and Ajdabiya, where protesters disrupted some polling centers – even burning ballots in Benghazi.

Libya's revolution last year, one of the central events in the pro-democracy uprisings that became known as the Arab Spring, began in the east. Since Gadhafi was overthrown, however, some groups in Benghazi and other eastern cities have said they are being neglected and should have more authority in the new government.

More than 140 parties and small factions competed in the election. Analysts expect Islamists would do well, along with a secular group of officials who played a role in the country's post-Gadhafi transition.