Libya: Preliminary results of Constitution Committee elections

The preliminary results of the elections for the constitution committee, or Sixty Committee, which was established to draw up the country’s new constitution, were released this week. Although most of those elected are not well known, the initial results indicated that the liberal trend did well.

So far, only 47 out of the committee’s members have been declared because voting has yet to take place for the remaining 13 seats. Two of these seats remain empty because they were set aside for the country’s Amazigh (Berber) minority which boycotted the elections on the grounds that the Amazigh were under-represented in the committee and because they were given no guarantee that their rights would be protected in the new constitution. 

The other 11 seats remain unfilled because the elections to these posts could not go ahead on 20 February as a result of various security issues. Despite the fact that the Higher Election Commission announced that voting would take place for these seats six days later, similar disruptions and security violations occurred, meaning the re-runs did not go ahead.

In such circumstances it is difficult to see how this committee can start work. This means that the constitution writing process is likely to be delayed even further, suggesting that Congress’ Plan B for early elections will almost certainly have to be implemented, providing that the Congress itself lasts that long. 

Indeed, the head of the Higher Election Commission, Nouri Al-Abbar, who resigned this week (see below), informed the GNC that “in the best circumstances and even with the availability of logistical support, the earliest time that elections can be held is between 5 to 10 months”. Whether Libyans will agree to wait that long has yet to be seen.

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

© 2014 Menas Associates

Libya: Encouraging results

On the evening of Tuesday 17 July the head of the Higher National Election Commission (HNEC), Nouri al-Abbar, announced the result of the election for the 80 seats in the 200 seat National Congress which are reserved for political party lists. As had been widely leaked the liberal secular National Forces Alliance (NFA), which is a grouping of more than 60 individual parties and hundreds of local civil-society organisations that is led by Libya's first post revolution prime minister, Mahmoud Jabril, won 39, or 62%, of the 80 seats. The NFA came first in ten of the thirteen electoral districts and another liberal party came first in another. The alliance did surprisingly well even in towns such as Derna which has traditionally been an Islamist stronghold.

By contrast the Muslim Brotherhood's Justice and Construction Party (JCP), which was expected by many to do well because of its disciplined organisational and financial muscle, only won 17 seats. The remaining 24 seats were won by 19 different parties.

Nouri al-Abbar also confirmed the large turnout with 61% of eligible men and 39% of women having voted. Of the total 1.8 million votes only 3% were invalidated which is very encouraging given that it was Libya's first election for half a century. There will now be a 14 day period for appeals including ten days for the decisions to be reviewed by the appeals court.

While there is no doubt that these results are encouraging for the liberals the results for the independents candidates contesting the remaining 120 seats have not yet been announced and, only when they are, will the real balance of power between the main political group in the National Congress be determined.

Almost regardless of the actual results, the fact that Libya succeeded in conducting seemingly free and fair democratic elections, with only a week's delay and with minimal violence or disruption, is a spectacular achievement which has been recognised by the country's main western partners.

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates