The Central Commission of Municipal Council Elections (CCMCE) is a Libyan

electoral commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

for organising municipal elections to replace councils elected in 2014. The intention was to hold a full set of municipal elections in 2018.

Aims

The

Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. ...

(GNA), led by prime minister

Fayez al-Sarraj Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj ( ar, فائز السراج or ; born 20 February 1960) is a Libyan politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya and Head of Government of the Government of National Accord from 2016 to 2021, ...

, decided to organise municipal elections in 2018 to replace local councils elected in 2014, under the responsibility of the CCMCE. The CCMCE is expected to coordinate with the Libyan

High National Election Commission The High National Election Commission is a body created in Libya for organising elections following the 2011 Libyan Civil War, starting in 2012. Creation The High National Election Commission (HNEC) was involved in organising the 2012 Libyan pa ...

(HNEC), which according to Article 157 of the draft Libyan constitution is responsible for organising local elections. The aim of the CCMCE is to hold municipal elections in all 92 municipal areas that held elections with confirmed results during 2014–2015, including areas under the control of the

Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; ar, الجيش الوطني الليبي, ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii'') is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa ...

(LNA). The LNA replaced 9 elected councils, out of 27, by military administrators. Altogether 120 local councils were created in 2013. The initial plan included three phases: update voter registration lists; hold elections in 44 towns in mid-2018 for councils finishing their mandates and where there were no complicated legal issues; hold the remaining 48 elections in late 2018.

Organisational structure and support

, Salem Bentahia (also ''Salem bin Tahia'', ''Salim bin Tahia'') was the head of the CCMCE, having held the role since March 2019 or earlier. , Khaled Younis was a spokesperson for the CCMCE.

International support

The

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP) and 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) supported CCMCE in electoral organising, aiming to provide technical advice for voter registration, voting logistics, voter education, and contact with citizens' associations to support the holding of local elections. The UNDP stated that its support project was "designed and guided by the needs" of the CCMCE, and that the CCMCE is a member of the project board. Coordination with the

International Foundation for Electoral Systems The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is an international, non-profit organization founded in 1987. Based in Arlington, Virginia, the organization provides assistance and support for elections and electoral stakeholders in ne ...

was planned.

Voter identification

Voter identification is planned by coordinating with the Libyan Civil Registry Authority to manage citizens' identifications by their National Number, to be included in a voter registration system.

Voter education

Activities encouraging "women, youth, differently-abled persons and other vulnerable groups" to participate in the local elections were planned.

Electoral events conducted by the CCMCE

Elections that were supposed to be held in 2014 in Zawiya, Bani Walid and Dirj, but were postponed for security reasons, were held successfully in 2018. In 2019, the

2019 Libyan local elections Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Musi ...

started in March and April with elections held in 20 municipalities. The series of local elections continued with elections in

Ghat Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...

in mid-August 2020 and a September announcement of plans to hold elections in 15 towns in the

(LNA) controlled eastern part of Libya.

References

{{National election commissions

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 Egypt–Libya bo ...

Elections in Libya