The UN mission in Libya urges the unification of the electoral authorities responsible for conducting municipal council elections in Libya.

Tripoli, January 27, 2021 (Lana) - The United Nations Support Mission in Libya “UNSMIL” stressed today, Wednesday, the importance of holding municipal elections, calling for the unification of the electoral bodies responsible for conducting municipal council elections in Libya.

In a statement on its official Facebook page, the UN mission urged all concerned parties, institutions and actors participating in the municipal elections, including the House of Representatives, to support and facilitate cooperation between the two electoral entities in Tripoli and Benghazi as an essential step towards unifying Libyan institutions.

The statement added that the council elections have been organized since December 22, 2020, successfully in the municipalities of Hay al-Andalus, Qasr Al-Akhyyar, Suani Ben Adam, Zliten, Tajoura, Sabratha and Garabuli under the auspices of the Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections, adding that the democratic process continues through the decision of the Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections represented in the re-Conducting the Swani Ben Adam elections and in light of the judicial rulings that decided to cancel the elections in the Hay al-Andalus neighborhood and Tajoura as part of ensuring the integrity of the elections through the existing legal framework.

The statement indicated that the municipal council elections in eastern Libya were organized on January 11, 2021, for the first time, under the auspices of the Central Committee for Municipal Elections in Benghazi, in the three municipalities of the Al-Wahat region, which are Jallo, Oujla and Ajakhra.

The statement indicated that the UN mission welcomes and supports the resumption of the second generation of municipal council elections in Libya since March 2019, indicating that they are very important elections to support democratic governance at the municipal level.

 The statement said that the mission is concerned about the ongoing parallel activities, including the dedicated voter registration system used in three municipalities in the east, about which the mission was notified by local stakeholders in al-Wahat municipalities, adding that the UN mission received a letter on January 20 from the Community Commission. Al-Madani of the Libyan Interim Government requests the mission and the international community to support and contribute to the electoral processes in the east in the future.

The UN mission's statement urged the two electoral management bodies to address the issue of the voter registry and the issue of using two different electoral systems as a common priority and in a broader context of unifying institutions, calling on the two electoral entities to engage in discussions on technical cooperation to conduct transparent and credible elections throughout Libya.

 The mission stated in its statement that the electronic registration system established by the Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections since 2013 had enabled 130 credible elections to be conducted in municipal councils throughout Libya, including 34 elections in western and southern Libya since 2018, calling for preservation for these achievements.

The mission confirmed that these two entities are fully qualified to be an example to be emulated in institutional unification and overcoming differences and divisions for the benefit of the Libyan people, state building and democracy.

=Lana=