Libyan parliamentary election, 2014

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Libyan parliamentary election, 2014
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All 200 seats up for election
101 seats needed for a majority

Prime Minister before election

Abdullah al-Thani
Independent

Prime Minister

Abdullah al-Thani
Independent

Libya
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This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Libya
Elections

Parliamentary elections were held in Libya on 25 June 2014 for the House of Representatives. [1] Whilst all candidates ran as independents, the elections saw nationalist and liberal factions win the majority of seats, with Islamist groups being reduced to only around 30 seats. [2] Election turnout was very low at 18%. [3]

Libya Country in north Africa

Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest. The sovereign state is made of three historical regions: Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa, and is the 16th largest country in the world. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world. The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is located in western Libya and contains over one million of Libya's six million people. The second-largest city is Benghazi, which is located in eastern Libya.

House of Representatives (Libya) legislative branch of the Libyan government

The House of Representatives (HoR) is a legislature of Libya. As part of the ongoing Libyan Civil War, it represents the "Tobruk government" based in the east of the country.

Contents

After the election was complete, two constitutional claims were brought before the Libyan Supreme Court (LSC). On November 7, 2014 the LSC ruled the amendment to Article 11 of paragraph 30 of the Constitutional Declaration invalid, which set out the road map for Libya's transition and the House elections. This in extension invalidated the entire legislative and elective process leading to the establishment of the House including the election. Therefore, this meant the House was effectively dissolved. [4]

Due to controversy about constitutional amendments the House refused to take office from General National Congress (GNC) in Tripoli, which was controlled by powerful militias from the western coastal city of Misrata. Instead, they established their parliament in Tobruk.

The international community through the United Nations Special Mission to Libya (UNSMIL) announced recognition of the House and thus ignored the Supreme Court ruling. It was seen as unrealistic at the time to dissolve the House.

Background

A General National Congress was elected, in July 2012, with the original responsibility of forming a constituent assembly to write the constitution; however, the National Transitional Council decided that Libyans will instead directly elect the constituent assembly. [5] The General National Congress came to agreement on 10 April 2013 that constituent assembly members will be elected; [6] the election for most of the constituent assembly took place on 20 February 2014. [7]

National Transitional Council de facto government of Libya from 2011 to 2012

The National Transitional Council of Libya, sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the de facto government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War, in which rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi. The NTC governed Libya for a period of ten months after the end of the war, holding elections to a General National Congress on 7 July 2012, and handing power to the newly elected assembly on 8 August.

General National Congress

The General National Congress was the legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It was elected by popular vote on 7 July 2012, and took power from the National Transitional Council on 8 August.

On 25 May 2014, the General National Congress set 25 June 2014 as the date for elections to the House of Representatives. [8] The new legislature has allocated 30 seats for women, will have 200 seats overall (with individuals able to run as members of political parties) and allows Libyans of foreign nationalities to run for office. [9]

Electoral system

The 200 seats were elected in by three different methods. Forty seats were elected by first-past-the-post in single-member constituencies, eighty were elected by single non-transferable vote in 29 multi-member constituencies, and the remaining eighty were elected by proportional representation. [10] In an attempt to reduce tensions, all candidates contested the election as individuals, instead of running on party lists. [11]

Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is an electoral system used in multi-member constituency elections.

Proportional representation (PR) characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. If n% of the electorate support a particular political party, then roughly n% of seats will be won by that party. The essence of such systems is that all votes contribute to the result - not just a plurality, or a bare majority. The most prevalent forms of proportional representation all require the use of multiple-member voting districts, as it is not possible to fill a single seat in a proportional manner. In fact, the implementations of PR that achieve the highest levels of proportionality tend to include districts with large numbers of seats.

Conduct

Turnout

I didn't bother to register this time around, and that should tell you everything. My friends were killed in the revolution, we paid in blood for this democracy, but what was the result of the [previous] election? Candidates make big promises, but when they get the power, nothing. [12]

—Mohammed Abu Baker, 21-year-old student

Turnout was a mere 18%, [11] [13] down from 60% in the first post-Gaddafi election of July 2012, [14] with only 630,000 people voting. [11] Barely a third of Libya's 3.4 million eligible voters had registered for the country's Constitutional Assembly election in February. [15] "Declining enthusiasm reflects growing disgust with the authorities' failure to govern," said The Economist . [15]

<i>The Economist</i> English weekly news and international affairs publication

The Economist is an English-language weekly magazine-format newspaper owned by the Economist Group and edited at offices in London. Continuous publication began under its founder James Wilson in September 1843. In 2015, its average weekly circulation was a little over 1.5 million, about half of which were sold in the United States. Pearson PLC held a 50% shareholding via The Financial Times Limited until August 2015. At that time, Pearson sold their share in the Economist. The Agnelli family's Exor paid £287m to raise their stake from 4.7% to 43.4% while the Economist paid £182m for the balance of 5.04m shares which will be distributed to current shareholders. Aside from the Agnelli family, smaller shareholders in the company include Cadbury, Rothschild (21%), Schroder, Layton and other family interests as well as a number of staff and former staff shareholders.

No voting took place in Derna, which had been the scene of a campaign of bombings and assassinations from radical Islamist groups based there. Some polling stations were also closed in Kufra and Sabha for security reasons. [11]

Violence

There were several instances of violence on the day of the election, with at least five people dying in clashes between government forces and militants in Benghazi. [11] According to security officials the deaths happened when Islamist insurgents opened fire on a local security headquarters, with the violence resulting in at least another 30 people being wounded. [11]

In a separate incident Human Rights activist Salwa Bughaighis was shot dead at her Benghazi home after having returned home from voting. Her attackers were reportedly hooded and were wearing military uniforms. Bughaighis, a native of Benghazi, was a lawyer by profession and had three children. She had played an active role in the overthrow of Gaddafi and had served as a member of Libya's interim National Transitional Council. [11]

Results

The results were announced on 22 July 2014. [16] All 1,714 candidates stood as independents as party lists were forbidden under the electoral system. Of the 200 seats up for election, 188 were announced on 22 July, with the announcement for the other 12 being delayed due to boycott or insecurity in some electoral districts. Most of the seats were taken by secular factions, with Islamists only winning around 30 seats. Some analysts[ who? ] fear the results might reinvigorate fighting between secular and Islamist forces. [2]

The new parliament has since based itself in the Operation Dignity stronghold of Tobruk. [17] On 12 August 2014, the parliament voted in favor of the Libyan head of state being directly elected, as opposed to being appointed by the House of Representatives. Of the Representatives present 141 voted in favour, with 2 opposing and 1 abstaining. [18]

Aftermath

In November, the Supreme Court annulled the election after an appeal by a group of unnamed MPs on unclear grounds. However, the appealing MPs asserted unconstitutionality as the parliament does not sit in Tripoli or Benghazi and that it had overstepped its authority by calling for foreign military assistance against the national infighting with the militias. [19] Though it cannot be appealed, the Tobruk-based parliament rejected the ruling on the claim that it was delivered "under the threat of arms." [20] MP Abu Bakr Baira added that the ruling was "baseless" and "a step towards dividing the country," he further said that the Tobruk-based parliament would not comply with it. [20] It was met with celebratory gunfire in Tripoli, the seat of the rival and competing Islamist-dominated government.

In further developments, former leader Gaddafi's cousin, Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, said that once the "government's" forces regain control of major cities many of the exiled supporters of Gaddafi, who were in talks with parliament, would return to get "Libya back from this mess" and support a national reconciliation programme. [19]

Related Research Articles

Libya's history covers its rich mix of ethnic groups added to the indigenous Berber tribes. Berbers have been present throughout the entire history of the country. For most of its history, Libya has been subjected to varying degrees of foreign control, from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The modern history of independent Libya began in 1951.

Politics of Libya

The Politics of Libya is in an uncertain state due to the collapse of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 2011 and an ongoing civil war between the Council of Deputies in Tobruk and its supporters, the New General National Congress in Tripoli and its supporters, and various jihadists and tribal elements controlling parts of the country.

Khalifa Haftar Libyan general

Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar is a Libyan military officer and the head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), currently engaged in the Second Libyan Civil War. On 2 March 2015, he was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the elected legislative body, the Libyan House of Representatives.

Ali Tarhouni Libyan politician

Ali Abdussalam Tarhouni is a Libyan economist and politician. Tarhouni served as the minister for oil and finance on the National Transitional Council, the provisional governing authority in Libya, from 23 March to 22 November 2011. He acted in the capacity of interim prime minister of Libya during the departure of outgoing incumbent Mahmoud Jibril from 23 October 2011 until Abdurrahim El-Keib was formally named to succeed Jibril on 31 October.

Aftermath of the 2011 Libyan Civil War

The aftermath of the Libyan Civil War has been characterized by marked change in the social and political order of Libya after the overthrow and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. The country has been subject to ongoing proliferation of weapons, Islamic insurgencies, sectarian violence, and lawlessness, with spillovers affecting neighboring countries including Mali.

2012 Libyan parliamentary election

Elections for a General National Congress (GNC) were held in Libya on 7 July 2012, having been postponed from 19 June. Once elected, the General National Congress was to appoint a Prime Minister and Cabinet. The GNC was originally to be charged with appointing a Constituent Assembly to draw up Libya's new constitution, but the National Transitional Council (NTC) announced on 5 July that the Assembly would instead be directly elected at a later date.

Justice and Construction Party political party

The Justice and Construction Party or Justice and Development Party is the political party in Libya associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. It was officially founded on 3 March 2012 in Tripoli. The party advocates Islamism.

2014 Libyan Constitutional Assembly election

Constitutional Assembly elections took place in Libya on 20 February 2014. Nominations for elections to the constituent assembly started on 6 October 2013; registration for candidates to the assembly was over as of 11 November 2013. The assembly will be composed of 20 members each from Libya's three regions: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan. The work of the committee is expected to last from March 2014 until July 2014. The constitutional declaration submitted in August 2011 by the formerly ruling National Transitional Council indicated that Congress itself would appoint the commission; however the General National Congress (GNC) voted instead to hold an election for the selection of individuals to the constitutional commission. The constitutional commission will draw up the constitution, which will then be up for vote in a referendum. As of early January 2014, 1,001,910 voters had registered via SMS.

Nouri Abusahmain Libyan politician

Nouri Abusahmain is a Libyan politician. He is a major figure on the Islamist side of the 2014 Libyan Conflict and founder of the LROR group which is considered "terrorist" by the internationally recognized Libyan parliament. He is reported to have rigged proceedings of the General National Congress while serving as its president.

2012 Libyan local elections

Local elections were held in several municipalities in Libya during 2012.

Libyan Civil War (2014–present) conflict among rival groups seeking to control of the territory of Libya

The Second Libyan Civil War is an ongoing conflict among rival factions seeking control of the territory and oil of Libya. The conflict at the beginning was mostly between the House of Representatives (HoR) government that was controversially elected in 2014, also known as the "Tobruk government"; and the rival General National Congress (GNC) government, also called the "National Salvation Government", based in the capital Tripoli, established after Operation Odyssey Dawn and the failed military coup.

Libya Shield Force Islamist armed group

The Libya Shield Force is an armed organisation formed in 2012 out of anti-Gaddafi armed groups spread throughout Libya. The Libyan parliament designated much of the Libya Shield Force as terrorist and elements of the Libya Shield Force were identified as linked to al-Qaeda as early as 2012.

Salwa Bughaighis Libyan activist

Salwa Bugaighis was a Libyan human rights and political activist. She was assassinated in Benghazi, Libya on June 25, 2014.

The following lists events that happened in 2014 in Libya.

Libyan Crisis (2011–present) Conflicts in Libya from 2011 onwards

The Libyan Crisis refers to the ongoing conflicts in Libya, beginning with the Arab Spring protests of 2011, which led to a civil war, foreign military intervention, and the ousting and death of Muammar Gaddafi. The civil war's aftermath and proliferation of armed groups led to violence and instability across the country, which erupted into renewed civil war in 2014. The ongoing crisis in Libya has so far resulted in tens of thousands of casualties since the onset of violence in early 2011. During both civil wars, the output of Libya's economically crucial oil industry collapsed to a small fraction of its usual level, with most facilities blockaded or damaged by rival groups, despite having the largest oil reserves of any African country. U.S. President Barack Obama stated on 11 April 2016 that not preparing for a post-Gaddafi Libya was probably the "worst mistake" of his presidency.

Government of National Accord

The Government of National Accord is an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations-led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement has been unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council which has welcomed the formation of a Presidency Council for Libya and recognized that the Government of National Accord is the sole legitimate executive authority in Libya. On 31 December 2015, Chairman of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh Issa declared his support for the Libyan Political Agreement. Ever since, the General National Congress has criticized the unity government on multiple fronts as biased in favor of its rivals, the House of Representatives.

This is a detailed timeline of the Libyan Civil War (2014–present).

References

  1. ↑ "Date for new parliamentary elections 25 June". Libya Herald. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Libya publishes parliamentary election results". Xinhua. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  3. ↑ Jazeera, Al. "Libyans mourn rights activist amid turmoil". www.aljazeera.com.
  4. ↑ Maghur, Azza K. "A Legal Look into the Libyan Supreme Court Ruling". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  5. ↑ "NTC takes responsibility for constitution from National Conference". Libya Herald. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Constitutional Commission will be elected and the political isolation law is constitutional, rules Congress". Libya Herald. 11 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Election re-runs next Wednesday says Elabbar". Libya Herald. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Thirty-Fifth Report - May 15 - May 30, 2014". Eye on the General National Congress. 15 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Congress votes to replace itself with new House of Representatives". Libya Herald. 30 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  10. ↑ "LIBYA Majlis Al-Nuwaab (House of Representatives". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jawad, Rana (26 June 2014). "Libyan elections: Low turnout marks bid to end political crisis". BBC. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Disillusionment mars Libya's national poll". The Guardian. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Libyans mourn rights activist amid turmoil". Al Jazeera English. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  14. ↑ Kirkpatrick, David D. (7 July 2012). "Braving Areas of Violence, Voters Try to Reshape Libya". New York Times. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Libya's turmoil: Little to celebrate". The Economist . 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "ELECTIONS 2014: Final results for House of Representative elections announced". Libya Herald. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  17. ↑ Ibrahim, Noora (13 August 2014). "Ansar increases presence at Benina check-point as criticism of Saiqa mounts". Libya Herald. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  18. ↑ Zaptia, Sami (12 August 2014). "Breaking news: HoR votes for direct popular election of Libya's president". Libya Herald. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  19. 1 2 "Libya court 'invalidates' parliament". 6 November 2014 – via www.bbc.com.
  20. 1 2 Stout, David (7 November 2014). "Libyan Parliament 'Unconstitutional'". Time.
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