Libya Conducts Elections in 7 Northwest Towns After Week-Long Delay

(MENAFN) Libya proceeded with elections in seven northwestern municipalities on Saturday, after a week-long postponement caused by security threats.

According to a statement from Libya’s High National Election Commission (HNEC), voting took place in Zawiya Markaz, Zawiya Wassat, Zawya Gharb, Zawya Chamal, Sabrata, Sormane, and Bir Ghnam.

Originally planned for last week, the elections were delayed following an attack targeting the commission’s facilities in Zawiya.

This round follows the first phase held last November, covering 58 municipalities, and the second phase conducted earlier this month, which involved 26 municipal councils.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) commended the elections and called on all parties to accept the results peacefully, urging them to use judicial channels if they have any disputes. The mission also called on voters “to actively participate in the selection of their representatives,” stressing the need for the appointed government “to remove obstructions and urgently allow the continuation of the elections in the municipalities where the process was suspended, so that all Libyan citizens can exercise their political rights and participate in shaping their local governance.”

“The holding of elections enables the building of trust and accountability between the citizens and local leaders,” UNSMIL emphasized.

Libya continues to grapple with political division, split between two rival administrations: the Tripoli-based government led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, controlling the west, and the eastern and southern government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022, headed by Osama Hammad and centered in Benghazi.

MENAFN24082025000045017169ID1109966913