2019–2021 Libyan local elections

Local elections were held in 20 municipalities in Libya in March and April 2019.^[1][2][3][4] The Libyan Central Commission of Municipal Council Elections aimed for a total of elections in 68 municipalities in 2019.^[2] With difficulties in organising elections related to the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign, the elections were not completed in 2019; they continued in 2020,^[5][6] with elections to at least 30 additional councils planned for 2021.^[7]

Background

Of the 120 local councils that were created in 2013, the Libyan Central Commission of Municipal Council Elections (CCMCE), headed by Salem Bentahia as of March 2019^[update], is responsible for elections in the 92 municipalities which successfully held elections with legally confirmed results during 2014–2015, and in Zawiya, Bani Walid and Dirj, in which the CCMCE held elections in 2018.^[1][8]

2019

March 2019

Local elections were held in nine municipalities in southern and western Libya, including Zuwarah, on Saturday 30 March 2019, with an overall participation rate of 38 percent.^[1][2]

April 2019

Elections were held in 11 municipalities in April. On Saturday 20 April, local elections were held in Brak al-Shati, Edri al-Shati, al-Rahibat, Ubari, al-Garda al-Shati, al-Shwairif, and Zaltan. Ghassan Salamé, head of United Nations Support Mission in Libya, complimented Libyans for holding these elections despite the 2019 Western Libya offensive.^[2] On Saturday 27 April, municipal elections were held in Sabha.^[3] Elections that had been planned for Sabratha and Surman on the same day were postponed by the Libyan National Army.^[3] Other towns in which municipal elections were held around these dates included Wadi Otbh, al-Ghuraifa, and Riqdalin.^[4]

Sabha appeals

Four appeals against the results of the Sabha election resulted in the election being declared invalid in a judicial ruling. In early November 2019, Judge Ibrahim Mahfouz in the Court of First Instance of Sabha overturned three of the appeals. A single judicial circuit can only consider three appeals on a case in the Libyan judicial system,^[9] whose top body is the Supreme Judicial Council of Libya, which remained unified during the Second Libyan Civil War.^[10]

May 2019

Voter registration by SMS was reopened by the CCMCE on 14 May for Misrata, Sabratha, al-Khums, Msallata, Jufra, Tarhuna, southern Zawiya, Kufra, Ghat, and eight municipalities in the Nafusa Mountains, including Asbi'a, Al-Haraba, Kikla, Kabaw.^[11]

2020

August 2020

In mid-August 2020, municipal elections were held in Ghat, the first Libyan local elections for 2020.^[5][6]

Municipal elections were planned to be held on 25 August 2020 in Traghan. A militia affiliated with the Libyan National Army (LNA) prevented the election from taking place.^[6]

The elected Sabha council was restored to power in August 2020 following a court decision. The Government of National Accord (GNA) had earlier replaced the elected Sabha council by a temporary council.^[6]

September 2020

On 2 September 2020, plans for the CCMCE to hold municipal elections with local community support in 15 municipalities in the LNA-controlled (eastern) part of Libya, including Derna and Al Qubbah, were announced in Benghazi by CCMCE spokesperson Khaled Younis.^[12]

Elections were held in Misrata on 3 September with CCMCE support.^[13]

On 23 September, residents of Gharyan protested, calling for a municipal election to be held.^[14]

October 2020

Elections for the municipal councils of Al-Haraba, Jadu, Kabaw and Zawiya in western Libya were planned for 15 October.^[15]

December 2020

Municipal elections in ar-Rajban and Zawiya were held on 21 December 2020.^[16]

2021

January 2021

The first four council elections of 2021 occurred on 7 January in the cities of Gasr Akhyar and Zliten, as well as for the Tripoli municipalities of Hay al-Andalus and Swani Bin Adam.^[7]

On 11 January the first municipal elections of the electoral cycle took place in eastern Libya, to the councils of Awjila, Jalu, and Jikharra.^{[citation needed]}

Voting continued on 23 January in the Tripoli suburb of Garabulli and a re-run in two precincts of Swani Bin Adam.^[17]

See also

• Libyan peace process
• 2020 Libyan protests

References

1. "Libya holds municipal elections in first vote for five years". Middle East Monitor. 31 March 2019. from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
2. "UN envoy hails Libyans' keenness on holding municipal elections despite war". The Libya Observer. 20 April 2019. from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
3. Alharathy, Safa (28 April 2019). "Sabha holds municipal council elections". The Libya Observer. from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
4. "Central Committee for Municipal Elections confirms the election of six new mayors to municipal councils". The Libya Observer. 1 May 2019. from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
5. "UNSMIL welcomes the determination of the citizens of the city of Ghat to participate in municipal elections". United Nations Support Mission in Libya. 18 August 2020. from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
6. Zaptia, Sami (27 August 2020). "UNSMIL dismayed by LNA aligned militias halting Traghen elections". Libya Herald. from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
7. Mahmoud, Khalid (9 January 2021). "UN Welcomes Municipal Council Elections in Western Libya". Asharq Al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
8. "Project Document – Libya – Local Elections" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 4 February 2019. (PDF) from the original on 6 January 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
9. Alharathy, Safa (6 November 2019). "Court of First Instance of Sabha sets aside ruling to overturn results of local government elections of the city". The Libya Observer. from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
10. "UNSMIL congratulates the newly elected members of the Supreme Judicial Council in Libya". UNSMIL. 10 July 2019. from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
11. Alharathy, Safa (15 May 2019). "Voter registration for local government elections to be launched in 17 municipalities". The Libya Observer. from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
12. Sami, Zaptia (2 September 2020). "15 Municipalities under eastern control to hold elections". Libya Herald. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
13. "UNSMIL congratulates people of Misrata on successful municipal elections". United Nations Support Mission in Libya. 4 September 2020. from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
14. al-Harathy, Safa (24 September 2020). "Protests in Gharyan calling for municipal elections". Libya Observer. from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
15. "4 municipalities witness vote in local elections on Thursday". Alwasat. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020. (in Arabic)
16. "UNSMIL commends municipal elections in Al-Zawiya Al-Gharbia and Ar-Rajban". United Nations Support Mission in Libya. 22 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
17. Alharathy, Safa (24 January 2021). "UNSMIL commends municipal elections in Garabulli". The Libya Observer. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.