CEPPS in Libya

Since 2011, CEPPS has been reinforcing Libya’s democratic transition through its support to transitional governance, election administration, and nascent civil society. Its work strengthens citizen confidence in Libya’s political transition by promoting a culture of democracy through the establishment of effective governing bodies and credible electoral processes, and by providing historically underrepresented Libyans with opportunities to contribute to civic processes in their communities.

CEPPS Overarching Goals:

CEPPS works with Libya’s High National Election Commission (HNEC), Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections (CCMCE), and the Ministry of Education (MoE), along with many candidates and political parties to promote a transparent and competitive political environment; and to increase government transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to citizens. Together with the Libyan media, CEPPS also strives to strengthen the credibility, transparency, and inclusiveness of the electoral process.

CEPPS Approach:

Along with Libyan election management bodies, government, stakeholders, and civil society, CEPPS provides support strengthening the integrity, transparency, and inclusiveness of electoral and political processes. This has included encouraging the development of Libya’s legal framework for elections, partnering with the HNEC and CCMCE to develop their electoral administration and voter outreach capacity, while improving critical aspects of the electoral process related to campaign finance, election dispute, and countering misinformation. Domestic election observation groups have also benefited from CEPPS’s support for citizen-led election observation missions, based on best practices and preparation for future national and local elections. Beyond electoral support, CEPPS provides Libyan CSOs help improving the effectiveness of civic and voter education and empowering women, persons with disabilities, marginalized populations, and first-time voters to take part in the transition process. Delivering assistance to activists working on issues such as accessibility for people with disabilities, combating underage marriage, and increasing women’s representation in Libya’s institutions, as well as encouraging youth-led organizations to host civic youth debates and implementing grassroots advocacy and direct-action initiatives across Libya are all within CEPPS programming.

CEPPS Key Achievements in Libya:

CEPPS strengthens Libya’s Electoral Processes, Civic Outreach, and Civil Society by:

Providing long-term capacity-building and institutional support and advice to the HNEC and the CCMCE – including support for strategic communications and planning, electoral dispute resolution, public outreach, voter registration, capacity development, and development of regulations and procedures.
Conducting regular national public opinion polls on democracy, governance, and the economy that have been used by policymakers, party leaders, and civic groups to make more evidence-based policy and political decisions, and to inform voter outreach efforts.
Working with Libyan partners to ensure a unified legislative framework for elections and processes related to the implementation of electoral events and provide technical support and advice to the judiciary on legal framework for elections and electoral dispute resolution.
Working with Libya’s Ministry of Education (MoE) since 2018 to develop a new civic education curriculum for students to teach new generations about the importance of political participation and civic awareness, and to facilitate the transfer of civic education materials from schools to households across the country. CEPPS trained more than 120 teachers on the use of interactive teaching methodologies ahead of a nation-wide rollout.

CEPPS Enhances CSOs’ Capacity to Engage in Advocacy on Issues of Citizens’ Concern by:

Aiding disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) to successfully lobby the House of Representatives (HoR) to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2018 – a first for Libya and a legal basis for future work to improve PWDs’ access to services and better economic opportunities. Our efforts have produced results at the local level where improvements in accessibility, including ramps and dedicated parking spaces at public buildings and polling locations have been seen in a number of municipalities in Libya.
Supporting CEPPS’s women’s partners from 68 members of parliament to establish a 30% women’s quota in the HoR. The Ministry of Culture has also committed to implementing a 30% quota for women’s representation within the agency.
Supporting local observation partners, the Libyan Network for Democracy and Development (LNDD) and H2O, to conduct citizen-led domestic observation during each round of municipal elections in 2018 and 2019. Both organizations are preparing to monitor additional rounds of local elections in 2020.
CEPPS’ work to augment underrepresented voices in Libya has also led to working with Tebu leaders to advocate for the inclusion of their indigenous language, Tudaga, in the education curriculum. CEPPS disseminated 6,000 Tebu language textbooks and trained 20 teachers who are implementing the grade school curriculum in the Tebu regions, including in municipalities like Obari and Sebha which have a history of tension or conflict between Tebu and Tuareg communities.