Registration for municipal election candidates closes in Zuwara

Taziz Hasairi.

Tripoli, 9 April 2014:

Forty-three candidates have applied to stand in municipal elections in the sub district of Zuwara, scheduled for . . .[restrict]26 April.

Of those registered candidates, 32 have applied to stand in the general composition, five are women candidates for the single women’s seat and six for the seat set aside for the war-wounded. Campaigning begins on 12 April and lasts until 24 April.

According to figures released by the local sub committee of the Central Committee four Municipal Council Elections , some 45 percent of Zuwara’s 25,000 potential voters had registered to vote when registration ended at the beginning of this month. While this figure might appear low, it represents one of the more robust levels of voter registration for municipal elections. Only 16 percent of potential voters have registered to participate in Benghazi’s municipal elections.

In Zuwara there have been a number of initiatives to increase registration including extending the deadline for registration three times from its original date at the beginning of March.

Low levels of registration plagued elections to the constitutional assembly and there are worries that voter apathy will similarly hamper upcoming municipal elections. [/restrict]