By Sami Zaptia.
London, 27 July 2021:
Libya’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC) reported today that 182,737 new voters had registered on the electoral list up to yesterday.
This brings the total number of those registered to 2,522,833 or 54.14 percent of those eligible to vote since the register was opened on 4 July. Libya has a population of just under 7 million.
HNEC’s role is technical in HoR Rome meeting
Meanwhile, responding to criticism that HNEC was becoming political by participating in the Rome meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) Election Rules Committee (brokered by UNSMIL), HNEC head Emad Sayeh said HNEC’s role in the meeting was solely technical.
Speaking to Libyan media, Sayeh said ‘‘Previous electoral laws suffered from deficiencies and ambiguities in some of their articles, which led to a deficit in regulations and executive procedures. The development of electoral legislation is necessary to fit with the political environment in Libya.’’
Disagreement between HoR and HSC
It must be kept in mind that Libya’s political powers, the HoR and the High State Council (HSC) have failed to agree by the set deadline of 1 July on the legal basis or pass the electoral law – for the planned 24 December elections.
The 1 July deadline was set by HNEC to give it adequate time to prepare for elections by December.
Without an agreement on the constitutional basis, there will be no elections as the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) Roadmap prescribes that the 24 December elections must be constitutionally based.
Moreover, the 2015 Skhirat Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) prescribes that any major decision, including on elections, cannot be taken unilaterally by the HoR, but in agreement with the HSC.
Meanwhile, UNSMIL has urged both sides to reach a consensus.
Nearly 149,000 new voters recorded on the electoral register | (libyaherald.com)
HoR Committee arrives in Rome for four-day deliberations on election laws | (libyaherald.com)
