On Sunday, Libya’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC) said that over 600,000 voters had received their electoral cards from local registration centers. This included 410,741 male voters, and 191,096 female voters.
Tripoli topped the list with 74,438 or 18.4% of the total number of registered voters. Benghazi came second with 51,330 or 12.7% of the total registered voters.
HNEC Head, Emad Al-Din Al-Sayeh announced that they have adopted new measures to prevent fraud in the upcoming national elections. “It is a huge logistical operation, even more complicated than updating the voter registration system, as it is a sensitive and accurate process. The entire electoral process depends on it,” he explained.
Last week, HNEC opened the registration process for the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections to be held on 24 December. The elections are seen as a step toward normalcy after nearly a decade of war affecting the country.
On Sunday, the son of long-time Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, Saif Al-Islam, submitted his candidacy papers to run for the upcoming Presidential elections. He appeared inside the HNEC headquarters in Sebha. He was surrounded by several of his supporters, including his lawyer, Khaled Al-Zaydi.
Last month, Al-Sayeh said Saif Al-Islam was eligible to run for the upcoming Presidential elections. In a discussion session via Clubhouse, Al-Sayeh noted that the law issued by the Libyan Parliament does not prevent his candidacy.