Less than two months remain until the scheduled local council elections for the second group of municipalities, which will include 63 Libyan localities, among them the capital Tripoli and several other major cities.
Announced timeline:
Emad Al-Sayah, head of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) board, announced the electoral process timeline yesterday, Wednesday. The distribution of voter cards is set to commence on Saturday, June 28, 2025, and will continue for three consecutive weeks. Campaigning for candidates will also begin on the same date, Saturday, June 28, 2025, extending until election silence day. Polling is slated to occur before mid-August, with the HNEC confirming completion of voter card and ballot paper printing.
This second phase of elections is expected to encompass municipalities across various parts of Libya, including key cities such as Tripoli, Benghazi, Tobruk, Kufra, Sabha, Ubari, and Sirte. The HNEC initiated preparations for this second round of municipal elections on January 19.
Candidates’ criminal status and challenges:
According to the latest statistics published by the HNEC, the number of registered voters reached 521,987, comprising 363,473 males and 158,514 females. The HNEC head explained that the extended duration for the second group of municipal council elections was due to several factors, including lengthy holidays, religious occasions, and security conditions experienced in the capital, in addition to the process of verifying the criminal records of the 4,000 candidates.
In a related development, the Public Prosecution revealed that the list of candidates for the local elections included over 200 individuals facing judicial pursuit in cases ranging from murder and rape to forgery. The Public Prosecution clarified that it had provided the HNEC with detailed information on candidates’ criminal status, showing that 228 candidates out of 4,214 had some judicial convictions against them, while others remained under judicial pursuit.
Completion of first phase and international welcome:
The second phase of municipal elections follows the completion of the first phase, held on November 16, 2024, which saw the election of 58 municipal councils. The HNEC announced that voter turnout in the first phase, which took place last November, reached 77.1% of the total registered voters on the electoral rolls.
The HNEC further detailed that 102,469 male participants out of 130,142 registered men (78.7%) cast their votes, while female participation reached 41,082 out of 55,913 registered women (73.4%). The total number of voters in that phase was 186,055, with 70% being men and 30% women, while the total number of candidates reached 2,331.
The first phase elections received widespread local and international welcome and commendation. In this regard, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) welcomed the HNEC’s announcement of preliminary results for the municipal polls. It also congratulated the HNEC for conducting the elections and the official security agencies for their assistance in ensuring a safe and peaceful environment that enabled voters to cast their ballots freely.
The success of local elections could mark a crucial first step towards conducting parliamentary and presidential elections capable of extricating the country from its crises. Furthermore, this success underscores public awareness of the importance of this electoral process and places security and political bodies under the responsibility of safeguarding every citizen’s right to freely express their opinion.