Libya holds delayed elections in 7 municipalities after security disruptions

TRIPOLI, Libya/ANKARA/ISTANBUL

Libya held elections in seven municipalities in the country’s northwest on Saturday, after a week-long delay due to security concerns.

In a statement, Libya’s High National Election Commission (HNEC) said the polls were held in Zawiya Markaz, Zawiya Wassat, Zawya Gharb, Zawya Chamal, Sabrata, Sormane, and Bir Ghnam.

The vote was originally scheduled for last week, but was postponed following an attack on the commission’s facilities in Zawiya.

The first phase of the polls was held for 58 municipalities last November, while the second phase covered 26 municipal councils earlier this month.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), for its part, welcomed the vote, and called on all parties “to peacefully accept the outcome of the voting and to resort to judicial mechanisms in case of any objections.”

It also encouraged all registered voters “to actively participate in the selection of their representatives,” and called on the appointed government “to remove obstructions and urgently allow the continuation of the elections in the municipalities where the process was suspended, so that all Libyan citizens can exercise their political rights and participate in shaping their local governance.”

“The holding of elections enables the building of trust and accountability between the citizens and local leaders.”

Libya remains divided between two rival administrations: one led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in Tripoli, which controls the west of the country, and another appointed by the House of Representatives (parliament) in early 2022, led by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which governs the east and much of the south.