The Chairman of Libya’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC), Emad Al-Sayeh and the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Marc-Andre Franche met to discuss the latest developments in the electoral process.
During a meeting held at the Commission’s headquarters, the two sides reviewed ways for the international community to support HNEC in managing and implementing the elections.
Franche praised the efforts made by HNEC in the completed stages of the electoral process. He affirmed the commitment of donor countries to strengthen the democratic path in Libya, in order to hold the expected elections.
Notably, the United Nations Envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily announced a set of tasks for his proposed high-level steering panel, with the aim of holding elections during the current year.
Bathily said that the elections in Libya do not only need a constitutional and legal framework, but also require addressing several issues to create conditions conducive to holding them.
He explained that the tasks of the panel are to provide a safe environment for the elections and to ensure the freedom of movement of candidates during the electoral campaigns.
According to a statement by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the panel will provide an equal ground for free and honest competition between the candidates, and to accept the election results.
Moreover, the panel will work on adopting a code of conduct that everyone adheres to, approving a transparent and fair government spending mechanism, and addressing any political or procedural issues that may arise.
On 27 February, Bathily announced an initiative aimed at enabling legislative and Presidential elections this year, and will set up a high-level steering panel, he told the United Nations Security Council earlier this month.
The proposed mechanism will bring together all relevant Libyan stakeholders, including representatives of political institutions, major political figures, tribal leaders, civil society organizations, security actors, women, and youth representatives.
Bathily noted that the initiative will facilitate the adoption of the legal framework and time-bound roadmap to the holding of elections in 2023. The proposed panel will also “provide a platform to advance consensus around related matters, such as election security and the adoption of a Code of Conduct for all candidates,” he added.
Libya is currently facing a political crisis after the Libyan Parliament swore in a new Prime Minister, former Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha in February 2022. MP’s argued that the incumbent Prime Minister, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba’s mandate expired when the elections failed to take place.
