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Libya held elections in seven municipalities in the country’s northwest on Saturday, following a weeklong delay due to security concerns.
In a statement, Libya’s High National Election Commission said polls took place in Zawiya Markaz, Zawiya Wassat, Zawiya Gharb, Zawiya Chamal, Sabrata, Sormane, and Bir Ghnam.
The vote was originally scheduled for last week but was postponed after an attack on the commission’s facilities in Zawiya.
The first phase of municipal elections was held in 58 municipalities last November, while the second phase covered 26 councils earlier this month.
The U.N. Support Mission in Libya welcomed the vote and called on all parties “to peacefully accept the outcome of the voting and to resort to judicial mechanisms in case of any objections.”
It also urged registered voters “to actively participate in the selection of their representatives,” and pressed 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.”
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“The holding of elections enables the building of trust and accountability between the citizens and local leaders,” UNSMIL said.
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 in early 2022, led by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which governs the east and much of the south.
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