Libya holds delayed elections in 7 municipalities after security disruptions

By Ikram Kouachi

TRIPOLI, Libya/ANKARA (AA) - Libya’s High National Election Commission (HNEC) announced on Saturday the launch of elections in seven municipalities in the northwest, after the process was postponed last week due to security concerns.

The polling was previously postponed following an attack on the commission’s facilities in Az-Zawiya.

The seven municipalities are Zawiya Markaz, Zawiya Wassat, Zawya Gharb, Zawya Chamal, Sabrata, Sormane, and Bir Ghnam.

Elections in 26 councils in the second phase were completed earlier in August with a 71% turnout, while the first phase had covered 58 municipalities last November.

Libya remains divided between two rival administrations: one led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in Tripoli, which controls the west of the country, and another appointed by the House of Representatives (parliament) in early 2022, led by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which governs the east and much of the south.