Election to the Constituent Assembly of Libya in 2014

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A Constituent Assembly was elected in Libya on February 20, 2014 .

In July 2012 a transitional parliament was elected with a term of office of 18 months . This should organize an election for the Constituent Assembly for February 2014. At the beginning of February, however, the transitional parliament extended its term of office to December. But then Parliament followed the request of two former revolutionary brigades; the election took place on February 20, 2014.

Boycott announcement of ethnic minorities

The national assembly of the Tebu and the Amazigh ( Berber ) community announced that they would boycott the election, although 14 Tebu applicants were registered as candidates.

coup attempt

One day before the constituent assembly elections, revolutionaries wanted to force the interim parliament to dissolve. Two former revolutionary brigades called on the interim parliament to disband. Otherwise, they would take MPs hostage. Prime Minister Ali Seidan found a compromise with the controversial "revolutionaries". They were ready to give the MPs another 72 hours. The country's head of state, Speaker of the Parliament Nuri Busahmein , warned of a “coup d'état against the country's legitimate institutions.” The army promised to defend parliament.

Modalities

About 650 candidates ran for the 60 seats in the Constituent Assembly. Women, the three historical regions of Libya ( Cyrenaica , Fessan , Tripolitania ) and ethnic minorities should be adequately represented through quotas. Berber representatives announced an election boycott because they felt they were not adequately represented with two seats.

The Italian Libya expert Claudia Gazzini saw in political discussions a trend towards using the constitution from the time before Muammar al-Gaddafi , i.e. before 1969, as the basis for a new legal order. At that time the Kingdom of Libya existed under King Idris .

Result

1.1 million of the 3.3 million eligible voters registered to take part in the election. Just under half a million Libyans (15% of the electorate) actually voted; many did not vote for fear of militias and Islamists or for other reasons. The official turnout was 45%.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Revolutionaries threaten MPs. In: Süddeutsche.de. February 19, 2014, accessed February 20, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Jamal Adel: Tebus announce boycott of Constitutional Committee elections; Tuareg split. In: Libya Herald. February 17, 2014, accessed February 17, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Andreas Gorzewski: Libya's stony road to a constitution. In: DW. February 20, 2014, accessed February 20, 2014 .
  4. ↑ In Libya only 15 percent turnout. www.neues-deutschland.de, February 22, 2014, accessed on November 15, 2015 .