By Libya Herald staff.
Benghazi, 18 April 2014:
Some 155,000 registered voters are going to be able to take part tomorrow in municipal elections in Benghazi and 15 other new municipalities. These include Ashwerif, Bir Ashhab, Brak Al-Shatti, Ghadames, Gurda Al-Shatti, Idra Al-Shatti, Jalu, Jardes Al-Abid, Nalut and Wazin.
The 16 are the first of four groups totalling 61 municipalities that will elect municipal councils in April and May.
In Benghazi, some 70,000 people have registered to elect seven general councillors, a female councillor and a revolution-wounded one. There are fears, however, that that security concerns and disenchantment with the political process could mean a low turnout. The number of people registered to vote was already low.
In the other 15 municipalities, seven members will be elected including one woman and one disabled revolutionary.
Voting in the second group will take place on 26 April in 21 municipalities including Ain Zara, Ajilat, Al-Jmail, Garabulli, Gubbah, Marj, Obari, Qatrun, Rajban, Reyayna, Rigdaleen, Swani, Tajoura, Emslata, Zawia West and Zuwara.
Elections took place in the first 15 of the country’s new municipalities in November and the beginning of December. The results have been trickling in slowly because the Public Officials Standards Commission (POSC) has taken its time to vet candidates. So far, the results from 11 municipalities have been declared and the new councillors have elected mayors.
On 9 April, those in Hawamid, Wadi Itba and Zintan travelled to Tripoli to be sworn in before the acting Local Government Minister, Saleh Said, in separate ceremonies and hold their first meeting to elect their mayors. Mohamed Masud Salem was elected Hawamid’s first mayor, Mohamed Saleh Hamid Mustafa as Mayor of Wadi Itba and Mohamed Al-Barouni as Mayor of Zintan.
Three days later, on 12 April, the Chairman of the Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections (CCMCE), Otman Gajiji, was in Gharian to oversee the election of its new mayor at the first meeting of the municipal council.
The man chosen, Yousef Badairi, is at 32 years of age, the youngest mayor in the country so far. [/restrict]
