By Aimen Amzein.
Benghazi, 25 April 2014:
Preliminary results for last Saturday’s elections in Benghazi for the new municipal council have been announced . . .[restrict]by the Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections (CCMCE).
The first seven of the 61 general list candidates (with the number of votes they gained) are:
- Awad Mohammed Abdullah Alqawiri (12,120 votes)
- Mahmud Rashid Mansur Al-Kikhia (5,510)
- Zakaria Rajab Ali Bitamer (1,555)
- Abdussalam Freij Bassiouni (1,357)
- Tariq Awad Al-Urfi (961)
- Essam Abdulqader Mohamed Al-Ghariani (939)
- Omar Abdullah Mohamed Al-Barasi (936)
In the contest for the single women councillor, Najia Abdullah Jibril Bala topped the list of ten candidates, taking 9,552 votes.
Anis Mansour Ahmed Mohamed Al-Majbari topped the list for a revolution-wounded councillor, taking 14,598 votes. There were two other candidates.
The turnout of registered voters was 50 percent.
Not all voters used the three ballot papers they were given. The number of votes cast for the general list of councillors was 34,980. For the woman councillor it was 29,945 and for the revolution-wounded councillor it was 30,021.
Each of the ten women and three wounded candidates gained considerably more votes than almost all the general list candidates but because of the rules only one each will be chosen.
During the count, votes from a number of ballot boxes had to be recounted after it was discovered that numbers did not tally because of an administrative error. “it was very transparent” said Otman Gajiji, the head of CCMCE. The boxes were reopened in front of the media and officials.
It is hoped that the final result will be announced on Monday or Tuesday, according to Gajiji.
If so, it means that the new municipal council could meet and elect a mayor for Benghazi by the second week of May. [/restrict]
