About the Carter Center's Limited Election Observation Mission in Libya

Following an invitation from the HNEC, The Carter Center deployed a limited international election observation mission to Libya to monitor and report on the July 7, 2012, General National Congress elections. The mission accredited 45 observers, including five teams of medium-term observers and 16 teams of short-term observers, supported by a core team of elections and legal experts based in Tripoli. Observers came from 21 countries and visited 12 of Libya's 13 electoral districts over the course of their observations.

In light of security considerations, which prevents deployment of observers in some areas of the country and which restricts their movements in others, the Center's mission is limited in nature and does not offer a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process. However, the Center shares its observers' findings and analysis with the HNEC and the public in a spirit of cooperation to enhance the quality of future elections.

The Center's assessment of the electoral process is made against the interim constitutional declaration, Libya's election laws and regulations, and the country's international commitments regarding democratic elections and political participation. The Center is nonpartisan and conducts its activities in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, adopted at the United Nations in 2005.

The Carter Center released a preliminary statement of its findings on July 9 and plans to release a comprehensive final report on the 2012 General National Congress elections within the next several months. The Center's public statements are all available on its website, www.cartercenter.org.

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"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers in developing nations to increase crop production. The Center has observed more than 90 elections in 36 countries. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.

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[1] Law no. 4, article 27.

[2] These were Tolatala, Eshblya, and El Hadba Schools.

[3] Article 7 and article 14 (3) of Decree no. 67.

[4] U.N., ICCPR, Article 25(b).

[5] In Misrata, ballots from one polling center were recounted following a complaint from an independent candidate. This recount found that the candidate had wrongly been assigned zero, rather than 97 votes.

[6] ICCPR, Art. 2(3), "Each State Party to the present covenant undertakes: (a) to ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms are herein recognized as violated shall have an effective remedy, not withstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity; (b) to ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have his right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy; (c) to ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted."

[7] HNEC decree number 93 for 2012 concerning regulations for elections dispute resolutions.