By Michel Cousins.
Tripoli, 25 August 2013:
The local committee running the new municipal council elections in Beida has extended the registration process . . .[restrict]there. Potential voters wanting to register will again be able to send an SMS with their National ID Number to 1171, the national number set up by the Central Committee for Municipal Councils Elections (CCMCE).
The town is set to be the first of the 100 or so new municipalities set up by the government to hold elections. The process started there on 17 July and ended on 5 August. However, not as many people registered as hoped, just 15 percent of potential voters. Registration by SMS will now again continue from today, 25 August, until 4 September. Voters be able to collect their cards until 5 September at the registration centre in the town.
Registration of candidates will also take place between 31 August and 5 September.
According to a source at CCMCE, candidates will then be vetted by the Political Isolation Law Standards Committee (also called the new Integrity Committee) and that, once vetted, the election campaign will start. “Everything will depend on how long it takes to vet the candidates,” the source said. “If it does not take long, the elections in Beida could be before the end of September.” [/restrict]
