Central Commission of Municipal Council Elections

Central Commission of Municipal Council Elections[1]
Agency overview
JurisdictionLibya
Annual budget(UNDP-supported 2018–2020 Local Elections project: US$3,981,960[2])
Agency executive
  • Salem Bentahia[3]

The Central Commission of Municipal Council Elections (CCMCE) is a Libyan electoral commission for organising municipal elections to replace councils elected in 2014. The intention was to hold a full set of municipal elections in 2018.[1]

Politics of Libya

Arab League Member State of the Arab League

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Executive
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Aims

The Government of National Accord (GNA), led by prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj, decided to organise municipal elections in 2018 to replace local councils elected in 2014, under the responsibility of the CCMCE. The CCMCE is expected to coordinate with the Libyan High National Election Commission (HNEC), which according to Article 157 of the draft Libyan constitution is responsible for organising local elections.[1]

The aim of the CCMCE is to hold municipal elections in all 92 municipal areas that held elections with confirmed results during 2014–2015, including areas under the control of the Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA replaced 9 elected councils, out of 27, by military administrators.[1] Altogether 120 local councils were created in 2013.[3]

The initial plan included three phases: update voter registration lists; hold elections in 44 towns in mid-2018 for councils finishing their mandates and where there were no complicated legal issues; hold the remaining 48 elections in late 2018.[1]

Organisational structure and support

As of January 2021, Salem Bentahia (also Salem bin Tahia,[4] Salim bin Tahia[5]) was the head of the CCMCE, having held the role since March 2019 or earlier.[3] As of 2 September 2020, Khaled Younis was a spokesperson for the CCMCE.[6]

International support

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) supported CCMCE in electoral organising, aiming to provide technical advice for voter registration, voting logistics, voter education, and contact with citizens' associations to support the holding of local elections. The UNDP stated that its support project was "designed and guided by the needs" of the CCMCE, and that the CCMCE is a member of the project board.[1]

Coordination with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems was planned.[1]

Voter identification

Voter identification is planned by coordinating with the Libyan Civil Registry Authority to manage citizens' identifications by their National Number, to be included in a voter registration system.[1]

Voter education

Activities encouraging "women, youth, differently-abled persons and other vulnerable groups" to participate in the local elections were planned.[1]

Electoral events conducted by the CCMCE

Elections that were supposed to be held in 2014 in Zawiya, Bani Walid and Dirj, but were postponed for security reasons, were held successfully in 2018.[7][8]

In 2019, the 2019 Libyan local elections started in March and April with elections held in 20 municipalities.[3][9][10][11] The series of local elections continued with elections in Ghat in mid-August 2020[12][13] and a September announcement of plans to hold elections in 15 towns in the Libyan National Army (LNA) controlled eastern part of Libya.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Project Document – Libya – Local Elections" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 4 February 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 January 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Support to the Central Commission for Municipal Council Elections". United Nations Development Programme. 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Libya holds municipal elections in first vote for five years". Middle East Monitor. 31 March 2019. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  4. ^ Mahmoud, Khalid (9 January 2021). "UN Welcomes Municipal Council Elections in Western Libya". Asharq Al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  5. ^ Alharathy, Safa (24 January 2021). "UNSMIL commends municipal elections in Garabulli". The Libya Observer. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b Sami, Zaptia (2 September 2020). "15 Municipalities under eastern control to hold elections". Libya Herald. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  7. ^ Talbot, Frank; Denehy, David (13 December 2018). "Is it time for municipal elections in Libya?". Institute for International Political Studies. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  8. ^ Assad, Abdulkader (16 September 2018). "Libya's Bani Walid and Darj elect municipal council". The Libya Observer. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  9. ^ "UN envoy hails Libyans' keenness on holding municipal elections despite war". The Libya Observer. 20 April 2019. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. ^ Alharathy, Safa (28 April 2019). "Sabha holds municipal council elections". The Libya Observer. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Central Committee for Municipal Elections confirms the election of six new mayors to municipal councils". The Libya Observer. 1 May 2019. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  12. ^ "UNSMIL welcomes the determination of the citizens of the city of Ghat to participate in municipal elections". United Nations Support Mission in Libya. 18 August 2020. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  13. ^ Zaptia, Sami (27 August 2020). "UNSMIL dismayed by LNA aligned militias halting Traghen elections". Libya Herald. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.