Final Report: General National Congress Elections in Libya, July 7, 2012
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General National Congress Elections in Libya Final Report July 7, 2012 Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope. The Carter Center strives to relieve suffering by advancing peace and health worldwide; it seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and protect and promote human rights worldwide. General National Congress Elections in Libya Final Report July 7, 2012 One Copenhill 453 Freedom Parkway Atlanta, GA 30307 (404) 420-5188 Fax (404) 420-5196 www.cartercenter.org The Carter Center Contents Foreword ..................................2 Election Day ..............................38 Executive Summary .........................4 Opening ................................38 The Carter Center and the GNC Elections ......4 Polling .................................40 Pre-election Developments ...................4 Closing .................................42 Polling and Postelection Developments ..........6 Postelection Developments ..................43 Recommendations ..........................7 Vote Counting and Tabulation ...............43 The Carter Center in Libya...................8 Election Results ..........................45 Election Observation Methodology .............9 Al Kufra .................................46 Historical and Political Background ...........11 Out-of-Country Voting .....................48 The Sanusi Monarchy: Federalism Versus Conclusions and Recommendations . .49 a Unitary State, 1951–1969 ................11 To the Government of Libya ................50 The Qadhafi Period, 1969–2011 .............13 To the New Election Libya’s Revolution and Its Emerging Management Body ........................51 Political Life .............................14 To the International Community .............52 Electoral Institutions and Framework Appendix A: Acknowledgments . 53 for the GNC Election.......................18 Appendix B: Delegation and Program Staff .....54 Legal Framework .........................18 Electoral System ..........................21 Appendix C: Terms and Abbreviations ........56 Election Management ......................24 Appendix D: Statements ....................57 Pre-election Developments ..................26 Appendix E: Deployment Plan . .81 Voter Registration .........................26 Appendix F: Checklists .....................82 Participation of Internally Displaced People ......28 Appendix G: Official Results ................90 Voter Education ..........................28 The Carter Center at a Glance ..............101 Candidates, Parties, and Campaigns ..........29 Campaign Finance ........................32 The Media ..............................33 Civil Society .............................35 Electoral Dispute Resolution .................36 Election-Related Violence ...................37 The Carter Center 1 The Carter Center Foreword By Dr. John Stremlau south, prevented us from mounting a comprehensive Vice President for Peace Programs, The Carter Center observation mission. Leader, Election Observation Mission in Libya With no firsthand experience and what seemed to be an impossibly short timetable, we congratulate n behalf of The Carter Center, I would the Libyan people for their dedication and persever- like to thank the people and government ance to conduct elections and form a 200-member of Libya for inviting us to observe the July O GNC. Despite the lack of adequate voter education, 7, 2012, election of a General National Congress evident confusion, and serious but isolated acts of (GNC) that is preparing the way for entrenching violent intimidation, more than 60 percent of democratic government for the first time in the eligible voters turned out to vote in what a senior country’s 60 years of independence. In accepting this United Nations official described as an “electoral invitation, we knew that Libyans were recovering religious experience.” from the effects of a deadly civil war that ended only Now, the hard political work of building national in October 2011 with the overthrow of the dictator institutions begins, virtually from scratch. There Muammar Qadhafi. Evidence of continuing insecu- are many diverse and conflicting political views in rity in some parts of the country, most notably in the The Carter Center Mission leadership meets with Ambassador Stevens and Sen. McCain: (left to right) Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sarah Johnson, Sen. John McCain, Diederik Vandewalle, Alexander Bick, and John Stremlau. 2 The Carter Center General National Congress Elections in Libya Libya, but there also appears to be new national and civil society. The successful staging of national consensus about the overriding imperative not to elections with the peaceful enthusiastic support of allow dictatorship to return. Such generalizations at the Libyan people, followed by the rapid transfer this stage are risky, but after 42 years of increasing of power from the ad hoc National Transitional isolation, humiliation, and abuse under Muammar Council (NTC) to the duly elected GNC is the Qadhafi’s capricious and brutal dictatorship, there is most hopeful sign that Libya has begun the long and a huge power vacuum that the country’s new breed of difficult process of building viable national political pragmatic patriots seems eager to fill with sufficient institutions. checks and balances to limit executive power and the The Carter Center’s election mission to Libya further squandering of the country’s oil revenue. was fully funded by a number of generous interna- The fundamental questions facing Libya are no tional donors, including the American, Canadian, different from those revolutions have grappled with Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian, and Swedish at least since the French Revolution of 1789: how governments. We are especially grateful to the late to uphold the defense of property while pursuing Christopher Stevens, the United States ambas- universal rights; how to balance individual rights with sador to Libya, who was murdered along with three those of the wider community; and how to achieve colleagues while visiting Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012. outcomes consonant with democratic ideals without Ambassador Stevens’ deep knowledge of and affection resorting to means replicating the sins of the old for Libya and its people inspired our mission. That order, which is what happened initially when the this affection was so evidently reciprocated by Libyans dictatorship of Napoleon replaced that which had is a source of hope that our friendship will continue prevailed for centuries of monarchy. to grow despite this or any other tragedy we are Today’s Libyans are surely more capable of estab- unable to prevent. lishing self-government than the French were in Barely two years ago, Libya was consumed by total 1789, but their cause is too important to the Arab civil war. Today, however, Libya ranks among the region, Africa, and the rest of the world to be done most politically successful in the volatile Arab world. in isolation. As the government begins taking steps The Carter Center was privileged to be able to bear toward ensuring transitional justice and reconcilia- witness to the first major phase of this vital transition, tion, we hope they will continue to welcome interna- and we look forward to celebrating further successes tional advice and cooperation from around the world, in the years ahead. including governments, international organizations, 3 The Carter Center Executive Summary ibya’s July 7, 2012, elections were the first Center observers visited polling stations in 11 of 13 national elections in more than 40 years and electoral districts and observed other phases of the Lrepresented a major step forward in the coun- electoral process in 12 districts. try’s transition from authoritarian rule to participa- tory democracy. Despite overwhelming challenges, Pre-election Developments Libyan authorities organized the election in a timely, The GNC elections were held under Libya’s constitu- orderly, and impartial manner that offered Libyans a tional declaration, promulgated by the NTC on Aug. historic opportunity to exercise their franchise. The 3, 2011; law no. 4, passed by the NTC on Jan. 28, Carter Center congratulates the Libyan people on 2012; and subsequent amendments, laws, and regula- this tremendous achieve- tions. The legal framework for ment and wishes the new the elections was adequate to General National Congress meet Libya’s obligations for (GNC) success as it forms Libya’s July 7, 2012, elections were democratic elections, though a new government and the first national elections in more several aspects were deficient oversees the drafting of a and should be improved in new constitution. than 40 years and represented a major step forward in the country’s future electoral processes. Most importantly, the elec- The Carter Center transition from authoritarian rule toral system — which was and the GNC to participatory democracy. comprised of three different Elections models, including first-past- Representatives of The the-post, single nontransfer- Carter Center first visited Libya in March 2012 able votes, and proportional representation — was and were invited by the High National Election excessively complicated and difficult for voters to Commission (HNEC) and the National Transition understand and failed to adequately meet obliga- Council (NTC) to organize an election observation tions for equality of suffrage whereby each vote has a mission to assess all aspects of the electoral process. roughly equivalent weight. Based on a careful assessment