Several Libyan cities are preparing for municipal elections in the upcoming period after poll successes in Bani Walid and Derj in southwestern Libya in September.
Many Libyans across 68 Libyan municipalities have registered to vote at the upcoming municipal elections. Unifying the government is critical to stabilize Libya, which is adversely affected by the conflict, particularly between rival factions over the power.
In early December, Libyan Central Committee for the Municipal Councils Elections began voter registration in preparation for the upcoming elections whose exact date has yet been revealed in the divided nation.
The committee said earlier the municipal councils in different regions of Libya would conclude its mandate by the end of this year.
The committee’s program consists of three main stages; the first is to start updating existing voter registration in the municipal councils whose mandate has expired, in addition to the newly established ones, bringing the total to 71 municipalities.
The second stage includes the completion of electoral lists in accordance to the laws governing this process, opening the door for candidates to apply.
In the third stage of the program, the committee will announce the initial and final lists of candidates, and set timelines for election campaigns until the polling day, which is yet to be determined.
Libya remains divided between the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli and led by Faiez Sarraj, and a rival administration in the east led by Commander Khalifa Haftar that has support from Egypt, Russia and the UAE.
Municipal elections will pave the way for Libya’s democratic process and presidential elections, which was originally set for late 2018. However, the date was abandoned under a new initiative led by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to hold them in spring 2019.
UNSMIL head Ghassan Salame is proposing to hold an inclusive national conference bringing together Libyans from across the country in January 2019 to decide on the poll’s format.
