Specifically, the campaign calls for the electoral distribution of districts to be mixed on the basis of geography and population in the following way: The 120 seats contested by individual candidates should be distributed among the regions as follows: Tripolitania 40, Cyrenaica 40, Fazzan 30, Central Libya 10; the 80 seats allocated to party lists should be selected in a single-district national election.

The “Libya Nadet” campaign is open to support from politicians and parties, NGOs, civil society leaders, and anyone regardless of geography or political affiliation who is in favor of fair
distribution of electoral districts while also preserving the democratic political process.

The ideas of the campaign are the product of intense capacity building consultations with Libyan leaders and legal experts about the electoral law and the district system, and the massive impact that the district system will have on Libya’s electoral outcomes.

“There are obvious reasons for concern about the performance of the Electoral Commission,” said Salah Marghani, a Libyan legal expert who led the training and was a member of the legal team that worked on the alternative law supported by the LWPP. “The first reason is slow response to the urgent need to hold elections by June 23^rd in accordance with Article 30 of the Constitutional Declaration and, secondly, a failure to communicate with political parties and civil society as essential partners in holding successful elections.”

The LWPP presented a list of questions and points for clarification as well as recommendations to Libya’s Electoral Commission, which are available online at http://www.lwpp.org.

But it is clear that much work remains to be done to ensure fair electoral procedures. “The National Transitional Council has not yet released the Electoral Districts and the Political Entities laws, and this delay impacts our work on the Electoral Commission,” said Eng. Ikram Bash, a member of the Electoral Commission at the press conference on the session’s final day.

The Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace was formed leading women’s activists in October 2011 to serve as a networking movement of civil society groups throughout Libya. It convenes trainings, organizes advocacy activities, and serves as an information clearing house for women’s and youth’s activists and their allies throughout Libya. It comprises members from all regions of Libya, as well as nationals and members of the diaspora. Visit the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace on the web or on Facebook.