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By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 12 December 2017:
The head of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC), Emad Al-Sayeh, has dismissed attacks on election centres in Benghazi, saying that they are not widespread.
“The attacks on polling stations in the eastern region are limited and have been amplified by the media,” he has said.
It follows widely circulated images of pro-Khalifa Hafter supporters vandalising future polling centres in the east of the country. Some called for a rejection of elections and a transfer of power to Hafter on 17 December. That is the date when, in some people’s view, the Libyan Political Agreement expires and, with it, the mandate of the Presidency Council and even the House of Representatives.
The view is rejected by the UN.
Meanwhile, HNEC has set up 16 new electoral centres in the south – ten in Wadi Shati and six in Sebha. A campaign has also been launched in the region urging Libyans to register to vote.
This included mass text messaging informing locals that registration had opened, distributing brochures and leaflets detailing the names and numbers of future polling stations in Sebha and Wadi Al-Shati, and informing people on how to register via mobile phone.
Yesterday, Sayeh updated House of Representatives president Ageela Saleh on HNEC’s efforts to bring about elections and discuss the legislation required for elections to take piace. It follows a meeting the two had in Tobruk on 3 November.
On 6 December, HNEC announced that voter registration was to open in preparation for national elections in 2018.
