Libya will hold rare municipal elections on Saturday in what is seen as a test of democracy in a country still plagued by political division and instability.
Key eastern cities, including Benghazi, Sirte, and Tobruk, have rejected the vote, underscoring the deep rifts between rival administrations. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) described the elections as “essential to uphold democratic governance” but warned that recent attacks on electoral offices and ongoing insecurity could undermine the process.
“Libyans need to vote and to have the freedom to choose without fear and without being pressured by anyone,” said Esraa Abdelmonem, a 36-year-old mother of three. “These elections would allow people to have their say in their day-to-day affairs,” she added, noting it would be “interesting to see” how areas affected by clashes in May would vote.
Since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has remained split between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and an eastern administration backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Khaled al-Montasser, a Tripoli-based international relations professor, described the vote as “decisive,” saying it would test whether Libya’s rival factions are ready to accept representatives chosen through the ballot box rather than imposed by intimidation or force.
Nearly 380,000 Libyans, mostly from western municipalities, are expected to participate. Elections had been scheduled in 63 municipalities nationwide — 41 in the west, 13 in the east, and nine in the south — but the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) suspended voting in 11 constituencies in the east and south due to irregularities, administrative problems, and pressure from local authorities.
In some areas near Tripoli, voting was also postponed over difficulties distributing voter cards. On Tuesday, armed men attacked the electoral body’s headquarters in Zliten, about 160 kilometres east of Tripoli. No casualties were reported, though UNSMIL confirmed some injuries, accusing the attackers of attempting to “intimidate voters, candidates and electoral staff, and to prevent them from exercising their political rights.”
Libya’s last planned national elections, set for December 2021, were postponed indefinitely following disputes between the two rival governments. The country’s first free vote took place in 2012, followed by municipal elections in 2013 and legislative polls in 2014, which saw low turnout amid renewed violence. In August 2014, militias seized Tripoli and installed a Misrata-backed government, forcing the newly elected parliament to relocate to the east.
A UN-brokered agreement in December 2015 created the Government of National Accord in Tripoli, led by Fayez al-Sarraj, but political divisions persisted. Other municipal elections were held between 2019 and 2021, though only in select cities.
