Special Representative of the Secretary-General Hanna Tetteh and her two deputies visited three Tripoli polling centres Saturday to witness municipal elections and meet with the High National Elections Commission staff and election observers who were overseeing the voting.
SRSG Tetteh and the Deputy Special-Representative of the Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Stephanie Koury, toured polling centres in Central Tripoli and Hai Al Andlus municipalities. DSRSG, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Aeneas Chuma visited Souq Al Jouma.
Municipal elections were conducted yesterday in 26 municipalities.
“What you are doing here today is important,” SRSG Tetteh told HNEC staff and elections observers. “I know you are facing significant operational and security challenges, but the Libyan people have the right to select their own leaders through peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections. Every step towards the goal counts.”
In the week leading up to the elections, HNEC offices in Zliten, Zawiya, and Sahel al Gharbi were attacked. Those in Sahel al Gharbi and in Zawiya were burned, in the latter destroying all electoral materials for seven municipalities. Meanwhile, in the country’s east and south, the House of Representatives-appointed government ordered elections be halted in 16 municipalities.
The Mission, in two statements issued Thursday and Friday, strongly condemned the attacks and negative government interference, labelling them “unacceptable” and calling all to “ensure a conducive environment for the free and orderly conduct of the elections.”
“I am very pleased to see that municipal elections went ahead successfully in 26 municipalities today,” SRSG Tetteh said. “These elections matter because they give people a real say in how their communities are run. I encourage all institutions to keep moving forward so that elections can take place across Libya.”
The polling centers were set up in schools. Each had separate rooms for men and women to vote. In each room, voters moved through four stations. Their identities were verified, they received a ballot for each race being contested in their municipality, they voted, then they dropped their vote into a transparent ballot box. All boxes used for polling purposes were sealed with special-purpose seals with unique identification numbers.
The SRSG commended HNEC on its technical preparations and professionalism.
“I am proud of the way my staff have performed,” said an HNEC supervisor at Souq al Jouma. “They are following their training to make sure the elections are conducted in a credible manner.”
An election observer at Hai Al Andlus commented: “The municipal elections provide hope that national elections and political change can happen.”
Earlier yesturday, DSRSG Koury attended a press conference at HNEC headquarters, where HNEC leaders gave an overview of their preparations and the plan for the day of polling.
“The Libyan citizen, in light of the grave challenges they face, including the declining level of services and the difficulty of meeting basic needs, has chosen the path of change and reform,” said HNEC Board Member Abdulhakim Al-Chaab, during the press conference. “They aspire to end the daily queues of suffering through the queues of elections.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
