TRIPOLI: The EU mission to Libya provided support of 5 million euros (6.1 million US dollars) for the Libyan election commission, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said on Wednesday.
“Bettina Muscheidt, head of the EU Delegation to Libya, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director to Libya, Sultan Hajiyev, signed an agreement at the UNDP Libya office in Tunis, through which the EU donates 5 million euros to the UN integrated electoral assistance project ‘Promoting Elections for the People of Libya’ (PEPOL),” the mission said in a statement.
The program will provide training to the Libyan High National Elections Commission’s staff on “international best practices in electoral systems, and in promoting public awareness and participation in elections.”
“The EU and UN are joining hands once again in a very tangible way in support of ongoing collective international efforts to help Libya achieve democracy, peace and stability,” Muscheidt said during the signing ceremony.
Hajiyev stressed UNDP’s commitment to support Libya “on its way towards recovery, and democratic and accountable governance.”
“To this end, and through PEPOL, we are providing the High National Elections Commission in Libya with tools it needs to enable active participation of Libyans in the democratic transition of their nation,” Hajiyev said.
The head of the UNSMIL Ghassan Salame proposed an action plan in September 2017 to end the political crisis in Libya.
Salame’s plan includes amendment of the current UN-sponsored political agreement, and presidential and parliamentary elections before the end of 2018.
