Southampton, England, 26 June 2013:
In partnership with Karama, the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP) organized an urgent two-day consultation in . . .[restrict]Tripoli starting 6 June to address the recently-issued electoral law which will govern the selection process for the Constitutional Assembly in charge of writing Libya’s new constitution.
The recently-issued electoral law is deemed ‘’an obstacle to inclusive representation’’ by LWPP.
The consultation brought together a range of national legal experts, women’s activists and youth campaigners, who, together with the LWPP, aligned priorities and developed plans to lobby for an alternative electoral law.
Over the two-day consultation, the LWPP and the civil society coalition, coordinated a national campaign and lobby for a more inclusive electoral law. The resulting proposal, finalized this week, emphasizes the introduction of ‘’zipper lists’’, which were successful in earning women nearly 17 percent representation in Libya’s national assembly in 2012.
A corresponding campaign “Together Men and Women We will Write our Constitution,” has also been launched.
The issuance of the electoral law of the Constitutional Assembly was considered a rejection of Libyan women’s great struggle and sacrifice during the February 17th Revolution, and of their current demand for equal and full participation alongside their brothers in building a new, inclusive and peaceful Libya, LWPP says.
According to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) “The elections of 2012 serve as an exemplary example of the positive impact of Special Measures on women’s representation, not only for Libya but for the whole world. Therefore, [we] urge the decision-makers and others concerned to consider adopting Special Measures in the elections to the Constitution-Drafting Assembly.”
LWPP adds that the coalition of Libyan groups convened in early June–which included youth, civil society, legal experts, women’s rights activists and other influential individuals–has identified critical areas of concern regarding the draft of the electoral law as a whole.
The six major themes of concern are: 1) the lack of adequate mechanisms to ensure gender representation; 2) the exclusion of persons holding dual citizenship; 3) the risk of incentivizing political formation along tribal lines by restricting the electoral process to the individual vote system only; 4) the ambiguity surrounding the provision of the “independence” of candidates and their non-affiliation with political parties, and the lack of any mechanism to identify such affiliation; 5) the manner in which the simple majority vote system influences the results of women and all minorities; and 6) the risk of jeopardizing the democratic process underpinning constitutional drafting by allowing armed revolutionaries to participate in the Constitutional Assembly (there is a precedent already in the GNC and it has been highlighted in the speech of resignation of the head of GNC).
The LWPP’s alternate proposal for the election of the Constitutional Committee is based on and combines those of Azza Maghur’s , Abdel Qader Qadura’s and Younis Fanoush’s propoasls:
The Electoral districts shall be divided according to the following:
1. The Eastern district: The Benghazi district, Al-Bayda’ district, Ajdabia district, Darna district, Tobruq district
Each district shall be allocated five seats ( four seats for the list and one for the individual)
2. The Western Zone: Tripoli district, Misrata district, Sert district , Zawiyah district
Each district shall be allocated five seats
3.The Sothern district: Sabha district. Obari district.
Each district shall be allocated ten seats. (8 seats for the lists and two for the individuals).
The election shall be held according to the system of the closed list. Each of which include five candidates shall compete, according to the mentioned criteria and terms. Any list which does meet such terms shall not be illegible for competition.
For the purpose of participating in the elections blocs and political entities, individually or collectively within a coalition, may apply through independent lists.
The elections shall be carried out according to the absolute majority criterion, hence one integrated list shall win the elections. Should no list win the absolute majority of the votes of the electoral roll (50% + 1) in the first round, a second round shall be held after a week as of the date of the first round. In the second round, the elections shall be held between the two lists which came first and second in the first round.
The lists which shall be entitled to participate in the elections must meet the following criteria:
First: That the different segments of the Libyan society be represented in it according to defined percentages by specialized and experienced individuals in the following fields:
1.Law and the sciences of Shari’a. Such persons experienced in law shall include ones who are knowledgeable and specialized in international treaties and covenants.
2.Economics and Management and Political Science.
3.Human Sciences. Such persons experienced in human sciences shall include ones who are experts and specialized in socialization, education, media, culture, sociology, history and psychology.
4.Technocrats (experts in the fields of medicine, engineering, information technology and transportation
5.Persons knowledgeable and experienced in the requirements of professions and crafts, and the rights of workers and peasants and craftsmen generally.
Second, each list should include diverse societal and national segments, the following are represented:
1. Women. Women shall be represented through the zipper mechanism. Political entities which has more than one list must comply with the horizontal and vertical zipping. Thus, women would be guaranteed 20 seats out of 60.
2.Youth (30-40). Every list must include youth.
3.The cultural segments of the Libyan society: 6 seats shall be divided as follows:
A seat for the Tebu in the Circle of Ajdabia.
Two seats for the Amaziegh in the Zawiyah circle.
Two seats for the Tawareq in the circle of Obari
A seat for the Tebu in the circle of Sabha.
4. Individuals of special needs: Three seats for individuals of special needs. A seat for every region.
All citizens shall be entitled to vote without any exclusion especially that the election is an election of the institutional Board which shall be in charge of promulgating the constitution.
1. Libyans outside of the country.
2.Members of the military bodies
See: Libyan Women’s Peace Platform ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? for more details
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