Presidential and Parliamentary Elections… the Expected Turning Point in Libya
A Libyan woman casts her ballot for Libyan National Assembly elections, at polling station in Dubai on July 4, 2012. Libyans vote on July 7 for a constituent assembly, the first body elected since the ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi, tasked with steering the country through its critical transition. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP/GettyImages)
The Prime Minister of the Libyan National Unity Government, Abdelhamid Dbeibah, stressed that the elections will be held on the scheduled date on December 24, 2021, stressing his government’s readiness to fulfill its commitments to support the holding of the presidential and parliamentary elections in due course.
Dbeibah said during a speech he addressed to the Libyan people on Friday, August 27, 2021, “The elections will be held on December 24, and we, as a government, have developed a clear plan to implement this program, and those who doubt that the government will not fulfill its obligations … are the same parties that have disrupted us for the past 10 years.”
The Prime Minister clarified that “the problem of the elections is not logistical, but rather is a purely legislative problem, adding that his government presented, in the past period, a real program to facilitate and implement the electoral process… We are with these elections because we consider them a very important turning point, and we are ready for these elections.”
About 3 Million Registered in the Elections
On August 17, 2021, the High National Elections Commission in Libya announced that about 2.83 million voters have registered to participate in the upcoming elections, with the closure of the voter registration door from within the country.
The Commission explained that the voter registry was updated with the opening of registration and the freedom to change polling stations on July 14, “to reach the end of the registration date period today with a statistic of 2.83 million male and female voters” out of 7 million people who are the population of Libya.
US and International Support
On Thursday, August 26, 2021, the US ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, reiterated his country’s support for holding presidential and parliamentary elections, during a meeting in Tunis with Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush.
For her part, Mangoush affirmed the ministry’s keenness to make this election a success, and also expressed its appreciation for the US position “supporting the Presidential Council and the Government of National Unity and its keenness on the security and stability of Libya.”
During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Ramadan Abojanah and Houssein Katrani assured the UN envoy to ensure that the upcoming elections are held without hindrances, and stressed the government’s intention to hold the elections on time.
We recall that the Libyan parties elected a new, unified executive authority under the auspices of the United Nations, during a meeting held in Geneva in early February.
The new political authority, a national unity government headed by Abdelhamid Dbeibah and a presidential council led by Mohamed al-Menfi, is mandated under a UN-sponsored roadmap to end the political division in the country, lead the transition and prepare for presidential and legislative elections on December 24.
