Our activities

Project activities

In particular, the project provides technical and advisory support to the HNEC to:

Provide technical advice to electoral legislators
Develop operational plans, policies and procedures for conducting elections, throughout the entire duration of the electoral cycle
Conduct voter registration updates
Manage data and develop software to support key electoral processes
Procure and transport election materials
Train election staff on procedures to perform various electoral activities
Coordinate the support of international stakeholders
Deliver credible election results, in a way that is transparent
Construct and maintain election buildings and structures, and their security

Main achievements

In 2021, HNEC provided technical advice on electoral systems and mechanisms to the Libyan Parliament, as it established a legal framework for elections. This has been instrumental to the establishment of the Presidential and Parliamentary Election Laws that will now serve as a basis for planning and conduct of democratic elections in Libya.
HNEC has developed operational plans, policies and procedures for conducting elections, transparently and according to the legislative framework.
During a voter registration top-up exercise, HNEC registered 514,942 new voters between 4 July and 17 August 2021.
Prioritizing full enfranchisement, HNEC registered 25,148 internally displaced persons, of whom 44 per cent are female.
HNEC has developed an out-of-country voter register, enfranchising Libyans abroad. Having registered 6,235 out-of-country voters between 18 August and 17 September 2021, a total of 10,720 voters are now able to participate in elections from outside of Libya.
In total, there are now more than 2.8 million registered Libyan voters – roughly 60 per cent of the population – of whom 43 per cent are female. Notably, the HNEC’s SMS-based voter registration system has proven to be an effective way to reduce personal contact and virus exposure.
For the first time, Libyan voters will receive voter identification cards, as an additional security feature, to enhance the credibility of the electoral process. Integrating a card-production component to the SMS-based voter registration system, cards have been printed; procedures for issuing cards have been published; software has been developed for nationwide reporting and monitoring of the process; and staff is trained to facilitate card issuing, which is now taking place.
Since 5 October, the HNEC has been accrediting national and international media and election observers, strengthening confidence in and integrity of the electoral process.
HNEC began the registration and nomination process for the presidential and parliamentary candidates on 8 November. In advance of this process, HNEC reviewed regulations and procedures, developed software, availed candidate endorsement forms online, and trained staff to facilitate the process.
With elections to be held in the very near future, polling materials – including ballot boxes and polling kits – have been produced and election ballots are designed to include multiple security features.
In addition to this, as a response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization, an operational guidance document was developed on the conduct of massive operations like elections, with processes that require personal interaction, while maintaining safety and hygiene standards and mitigating risk of infection. This guide has informed the amendment of election procedures, to maintain electoral integrity and principles, while prioritizing health and safety.
Following the 2018 terrorist attack on HNEC staff and their compound, project budget and activities were revised to prioritize reconstruction, maintenance and security enhancements to election buildings and structures. Elaborating this initiative, hardware systems have been installed to create a Data Centre, enabling the voter registration – a foundational element of election activities – while improving the system, at large. Generators have been installed to ensure electricity back-up and maintenance of compound and server capacity; and X-ray machines have been installed as a general security measure.

Impact

Other positive impacts of the electoral process

Confidence-building that has provided an impetus for concrete actions toward peace:

23 October 2020 – signing of Agreement for a Complete and Permanent Ceasefire in Libya at Palais des Nations, Geneva

Establishment of a vehicle through which to deliver equal human rights:

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 21), everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country; and to express their will freely, through universal and equal suffrage.
The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum Roadmap includes the protection of human rights among its key objectives.
The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, ratified by Libya in 1989, agrees to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women.

Strengthening Libya’s nascent legacy of democratically elected governance; and national institutions that are transparent, inclusive and credible:

Since its establishment, the HNEC has successfully conducted three national electoral processes, including elections of the General National Congress (2012); Constitutional Drafting Assembly (2014); and House of Representatives (2014).
Two substantive groups were registered to vote in 2021, new young voters or voters who changed their residence since the last voter registration exercise in 2017.

Contribution to global goals for peace, freedom and sustainable development

Conducting elections contributes directly to United Nations Agenda 2030 – a plan of action for people and planet, to achieve peace and freedom; and to the Sustainable Development Goals they encompass. These include SDG 16 to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; and SDG 5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

UNDP

EC-UNDP JTF