By Nihal Zaroug.
Tripoli, 28 April:
The ongoing debate about Libya’s elections includes a variety of possibilities, the most prominent of which is . . .[restrict]whether elections should be postponed and if so, for how long. The National Transitional Council (NTC) has in the past weeks reassured the public that elections for the constitutional assembly will be held on 19 June. Speaking to Al-Arabiya on 4 April, NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil stated that he would “resign if elections failed” and warned that force would be used against those who jeopardize Libya’s security affecting the upcoming poll.
The day after Jalil made these strong statements, government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa, in the government’s weekly press release, said that “lack of stability could affect the decision about holding elections on time.” It appears that the NTC and government have diverging views on whether Libya can hold the contest as scheduled.
However, it is not only security concerns that may delay it. It is increasingly unclear whether preparations will be completed on schedule. On 25 April, Utham Gajiji, the head of the High National Election Commission, was replaced along with four other board members. No specific reason was given, but lack of progress on preparations is something that cannot be ignored. The dismissals themselves are new reasons for delays.
The commission is now headed by Nuri Elabbar, previously the commissions spokesman, who on 24 April said that Libyans living abroad were unlikely to vote. This is a setback for the country and a major disappointment to the many Libyans abroad who hoped to participate in Libya’s historic elections. Elabbar explained that given the time frame and lack of databases on Libyans living abroad, it would be very difficult to create one in time for the elections. It appears that time is not on the side of elections.
There are other factors indicating that national elections may be postponed. Libya’s two largest cities have yet to elect local councils. Elected local councils ought to replace NTC representatives for local constituencies. Even though local council elections do not play a role in the June elections, they show clearly the time it takes to register voters which is a long and daunting process. Benghazi began registering voters on 4 April, but due to low voter turnout, registration had to be extended, and this effectively delayed the election of a local council. An official voter list has yet to be released.
In Tripoli, voter registration was supposed to start by the third week of April and this has not happened. Delays in registering voters have been attributed to disputes over the independence of the electoral commission, and lack of funding. Civil society groups complain that the work done by the commission cannot be finalized unless the current Tripoli Local Council (TLC) members guarantee that they will not run for local elections. Unlike Benghazi, the Tripoli electoral commission was appointed and tasked by the TLC.
We are a few days away from the date set for the national voter registration, and I wonder if the public is even aware that on 1 May, they are expected to come out and register to vote.
Which brings us to another factor in delaying the elections. The public is not aware of what is expected of them. The NTC has not made informative public announcements about the elections. Speaking to individuals, you get a sense that there is confusion over the electoral process and what people are voting to install.
This point was recently made clear while attending a forum at the University of Tripoli. The forum held on 24 April was organised by local NGO 1Libya. Its aim was to create an open discussion among youth on democracy, the electoral process and the role of media. One would assume that university students would be well informed on the upcoming elections as they have the means to inform themselves, and should have an interest in participating and seeing elections succeed. This was not the case.
Guest speaker and human rights activist, Fairouz Naas, posed the simple question “What is the election date?” After a long silence, one student answered correctly — one student out of the more than 80 who attended.
Let us assume that the students were not keen to answer publicly, but still only one student answered. Urging the students to be more involved and explaining to them that the revolution is not over yet, Naas told the eager listeners that they had an important role to play, and that their first step was to register to vote. In conclusion, she explained that the voice of the youth would be unheard if they did not participate in elections, and she especially pleaded with women to be more active since they belong to two groups: women and youth.
Naas concluded by warning the students that if they did not part take, they were effectively waving their rights, a closing statement that left an impression on the young minds. It had not occurred to them, and why should it have? This is all new to Libya as over the past four decades, such words as democracy, elections, voting, rights and freedoms were not known or even discussed.
Idris Musmari, a prominent Libyan publisher, asked the students how got they their news. Well aware that they do not actively read newspapers, Musmari told them that not everything they read online was sourced and reliable, especially cautioning them to check news posted on Facebook pages. He said that in the months following the toppling of the regime, no concrete youth and political programs had been set up to actively engage the public.
He cited this as why the youth showed lack of interest and knowledge about the political situation. However, he said: “Don’t wait for the information to come to you; be active and find it yourself. Show the same interest you do with other things that matter because the elections matter too. This is the first time we will get to voted in 42 years; this is your chance, your voice, your freedom.”
1Libya’s forum was much needed, and something similar on a national scale would greatly benefit the general public. If Libya’s youth, the ones who started the revolution, show little knowledge of political processes, what about the rest of the country? What is their understanding?
These are questions the electoral high commission should be pondering. It is their duty to provide reliable information and create awareness before polls open.
If for any reason, elections are postponed, the lack of public engagement and awareness should be the reasons. Should elections be delayed until there is better understanding and readiness to participate in this crucial stage of Libya’s path to democracy?
To answer this, we should first consider how long it would take a country such as Libya, where democracy has been absent for 42 years, to build a democratic process. The answer might not be appealing, but in Tunisia where a constitution, electoral law and political parties existed, elections were delayed by three months in order to better prepare the country.
Unfortunately, it may take Libya more than a few months to get there and to reach a point at which officials feel confident that fair, free and transparent elections can be held. The diverging stances by the NTC and government show a lack of confidence in the elections.
If Libya is faced with this predicament come election time, then it would be wiser for the NTC and the government to decide in unison right away the fate of the elections. The NTC is already under scrutiny over the elections; the situation should be realistically evaluated and a decision should be taken now. Waiting until nearer the election date will anger the public and may lead to disorder.
[/restrict]