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Tripoli, 11 June
The announcement by High National Election Commission (HNEC) that the National Congress elections will be postponed from 19 June to . . .[restrict]7 July has been welcomed by 12. the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Ian Martin.
“This is an important step in Libya’s road to recovery and democracy,: said Martin who also heads of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). “It sets in motion the final stages of a historic process for Libyans to freely choose their own representatives for the first time in over four decades. The date announced by the Commission will enable essential preparations to be completed prior to voting.”
Martin commended HNEC for the progress it has made in organising “a credible process”.
“What has been achieved so far is admirable, especially in the context of an extremely tight timetable and major operational challenges,” he said. “I am confident of the commitment of the Election Commission and all authorities to see an early and successful conclusion of this electoral process.”
The UN support team is working closely with HNEC on the election process. It had been pushing hard for a delay, insisting that for the elections to be credible there had to be a reasonable length of time for voters to know who the candidates were and what they stood for. It was known that the UN team wanted the vote to be postponed till early July.
In his statement, Martin stressed that the UN was committed to supporting the Libyan people “achieve results which clearly reflect the will of voters”.
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