Parliamentary elections were held in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
on 25 June 2014 for the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. Whilst all candidates ran as independents, the elections saw nationalist and liberal factions win the majority of seats, with Islamist groups being reduced to only around 30 seats.
Election turnout was very low at 18%.
After the election was complete, two constitutional claims were brought before the
Libyan Supreme Court (LSC). On 7 November 2014 the LSC ruled the amendment to Article 11 of paragraph 30 of the Constitutional Declaration invalid, which set out the road map for Libya's transition and the House elections. This in extension invalidated the entire legislative and elective process leading to the establishment of the House including the election. Therefore, this meant the House was effectively dissolved.
Due to controversy about constitutional amendments the House refused to take office from General National Congress (GNC) in Tripoli, which was controlled by powerful militias from the western coastal city of Misrata. Instead, they established their parliament in Tobruk.
The international community through the
United Nations Support Mission in Libya
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is a United Nations (UN) advanced mission in Libya, created in the aftermath of the Libyan Civil War. UNSMIL is a political mission, not a military mission. The main elements of its mandate def ...
(UNSMIL) announced recognition of the House and thus ignored the Supreme Court ruling. It was seen as unrealistic at the time to dissolve the House.
Background
The
General National Congress was elected in July 2012, with the responsibility of forming a constituent assembly to write the constitution. However, the
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...
decided that Libyans would instead directly elect the constituent assembly. The
General National Congress
The General National Congress or General National Council (GNC; ar, المؤتمر الوطني العام, Berber: Agraw Amuran Amatay) was the legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It w ...
came to agreement on 10 April 2013 that constituent assembly members would be elected; the election for most of the constituent assembly took place on 20 February 2014.
On 25 May 2014, the General National Congress set 25 June 2014 as the date for elections to the House of Representatives.
Article 16 of the Electoral Law voted by the GNC on 30 March 2014 with 124 votes in favour out of 133, allocated 30 seats for women, and 200 seats overall, with individuals able to run as members of political parties, but without party lists, and declared Libyans with a second nationality to be eligible.
Electoral system
The 200 seats were elected in 13 constituencies divided into 75 sub-constituencies. In an attempt to reduce tensions, all candidates contested the election as individuals, instead of running on party lists.
Conduct
Turnout
Turnout was a mere 18%,
down from 60% in the first post-
Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
election of July 2012, with only 630,000 people voting.
Barely a third of Libya's 3.4 million eligible voters had registered for the country's
Constitutional Assembly election in February.
"Declining enthusiasm reflects growing disgust with the authorities' failure to govern," said ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
''.
No voting took place in
Derna, which had been the scene of a campaign of bombings and assassinations from radical
Islamist groups
Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is ...
based there. Some polling stations were also closed in
Kufra
Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...
and
Sabha for security reasons.
Violence
There were several instances of violence on the day of the election, with at least five people dying in clashes between government forces and militants in Benghazi.
According to security officials the deaths happened when Islamist insurgents opened fire on a local security headquarters, with the violence resulting in at least another 30 people being wounded.
In a separate incident Human Rights activist
Salwa Bughaighis was shot dead at her Benghazi home after having returned home from voting. Her attackers were reportedly hooded and were wearing military uniforms. Bughaighis, a native of Benghazi, was a lawyer by profession and had three children. She had played an active role in the overthrow of Gaddafi and had served as a member of Libya's interim National Transitional Council.
Results
The results were announced on 22 July 2014. All 1,714 candidates stood as independents as party lists were forbidden under the electoral system. Of the 200 seats up for election, 188 were announced on 22 July, with the announcement for the other 12 being delayed due to boycott or insecurity in some electoral districts.
Most of the seats were taken by secular factions, with Islamists only winning around 30 seats. Some analysts immediately feared the results could reinvigorate
fighting between secular and Islamist forces.
On 12 August 2014, the parliament voted in favor of the Libyan head of state being directly elected, as opposed to being appointed by the House of Representatives. Of the Representatives present 141 voted in favour, with 2 opposing and 1 abstaining.
After the Islamist coup of 23 August 2014, the parliament moved to the Operation Dignity stronghold of Tobruk.
Key results include the following.
Aftermath
In November, the Supreme Court annulled the election after an appeal by a group of unnamed MPs on unclear grounds. However, the appealing MPs asserted unconstitutionality as the parliament does not sit in Tripoli or Benghazi and that it had overstepped its authority by calling for foreign military assistance against the national infighting with the militias.
Though it cannot be appealed, the Tobruk-based parliament rejected the ruling on the claim that it was delivered "under the threat of arms."
MP
Abu Bakr Baira
Abu Bakr Mustaffa Baira ( ar, أبوبكر مصطفى بعيرة) (born July 21, 1941) is a Libyan politician who was the Acting President of the House of Representatives (also known as the Libyan House of Representatives-HoR ar, مجلس ال ...
added that the ruling was "baseless" and "a step towards dividing the country," he further said that the Tobruk-based parliament would not comply with it.
It was met with celebratory gunfire in Tripoli, the seat of the rival and competing Islamist-dominated government.
In further developments, former leader Gaddafi's cousin,
Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, said that once the "government's" forces regain control of major cities many of the exiled supporters of Gaddafi, who were in talks with parliament, would return to get "Libya back from this mess" and support a national reconciliation programme.
References
{{Authority control
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
2014 in Libya
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
June 2014 events in Africa
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results