France provides 200.000 euros to UN project in support for Libya elections

The French Ambassador to Libya,  Brigitte Curmi, and Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (DSRSG) and of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Libya,  Maria Ribeiro, signed the agreement for France’s contribution to the UN electoral project “Promoting Elections for the People of Libya (PEPOL)” in a ceremony that took place today at the French Embassy to Libya, relocated in Tunis. The French contribution of Euro 200,000 comes in addition to the recently signed contribution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The UN electoral assistance project is a partnership with the High National Electoral Commission, implemented through UNDP. The project will support the HNEC’s capacity to manage electoral processes, in accordance with internationally recognized best practices and principles.

HNEC is the co-chair of the initiative that seeks also to promote public participation and awareness in electoral processes in Libya.

During the ceremony, Ambassador Brigitte, highlighted the importance of empowering HNEC to ensure ownership and national interest in the process.

“[The UNDP electoral project] aims to strengthen the technical capacities of the Libyans involved, and to provide assistance in defining an appropriate legal framework by the national authorities,” she said. “The success of the elections is a shared responsibility between Libyans and the international community,” she added.

For her part, DSRSG, Ms. Ribeiro, emphasized that “Elections are important step in the democratic process in Libya and can help to restore public confidence in Libyan institutions.”

She added that this project will support HNEC, political stakeholders and civil society to continue working closely together towards inclusive, transparent and credible elections.

The project will be implemented through training, activities and capacity building and will target a large spectrum of stakeholders.