Tripoli, 18 June:
The High National Elections Commission (HNEC) has provided the Libya Herald with the final numbers of candidates for . . .[restrict]both individual constituencies and the party lists in the 7 July National Conference elections. The figures also include the total numbers of disqualified candidates.
For the 80 seats set aside for political parties, there are a total of 1,202 candidates, amongst them 540 women and 662 men. Under the election laws, each party is obliged to put forward male and female candidates on a butterfly-ballot system, with male and female candidates being put forward alternately. The system is designed to ensure close to equal numbers of male and female candidates being put forward on the party lists.
The discrepancy between the total number of male and female candidates has two causes. First, in districts where a party put forward an uneven number of candidates, the list can be topped and tailed with a male candidate, leaving fewer female candidates in between.
Moreover, political parties are also required to submit sufficient numbers of candidates to fill not less than 50 per cent and not more than 100 per cent of available seats in the districts in which they are standing. In districts where parties did not put forward women, they were obliged to put forward only half the number of candidates they otherwise would have done.
A total of 130 political parties are putting candidates forward at the elections.
For the 120 seats reserved for individuals, there are exactly 2,500 candidates, amongst them 85 women and 2,415 men. The extremely low number of women standing for individual election is understood to be the consequence of female candidates choosing to concentrate their efforts on election to the party lists.
A comparatively small number of the 3,702 candidates standing for election were initially disqualified by the integrity commission, just 242 in total. Of those, 221 were men and 21 were women. 76 men and six women won the right to return on appeal, with 135 men and 15 women remaining disqualified. The integrity commission’s mandate is to investigate evidence of crimes or corruption engaged in by candidates under the Qaddafi regime.
The integrity commission also returned a further 10 men, who were initially disqualified for failing to fill in their forms properly. Apparently no female candidates had the same problems.
The HNEC also disqualified 12 political parties because they did not submit any candidates.
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