Tripoli, 15 December 2022 – The Government of France and the UNDP signed a new agreement committing additional resources to the United Nations efforts to continue strengthening the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) preparedness to conduct free and fair elections, and in particular prevent electoral misinformation.

During an event at the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) Headquarters in Tripoli today, His Excellency the Ambassador of France to Libya, Mr. Mostafa Mihraje, and UNDP’s Resident Representative, Mr. Marc-André Franche emphasized that democratic elections are foundational for political stability, institutional legitimacy and sustainable development in Libya.

Specifically, the contribution of France will foster an environment that is conducive to credible, fair and free elections by supporting HNEC’s work:

• Informing the public of democratic principles and improve understanding of the electoral process.
• Strengthening the objective delivery of authoritative and evidence-based information.
• Preventing and mitigate the impact of election misinformation and disinformation campaigns.

At the signing ceremony, H.E. Mostafa Mihraje said, “Only the free expression of the will of the Libyan people can restore unquestionable legitimacy in Libya. Only a real dialogue between Libyans could lead to presidential and parliamentary elections in all Libya by a real commitment between all the actors for secure, transparent, inclusive and credible elections. France is committed to support the election processes in order to preserve the unity, the stability and sovereignty of Libya.”

Speaking on the occasion, UNDP representative to Libya, stated, “Access to sufficient and reliable information for Libyans to participate in the electoral processes is key to conducting credible, transparent and inclusive elections and increase trust of citizens in the state. With support from the government of France, UNDP will strengthen its accompaniment of HNEC in developing institutional and staff capacities and raising awareness on the requirements of electoral processes.”

UNDP’s program ’Promoting Elections for the People of Libya’ provides technical assistance HNEC, supporting its capacity and readiness to prepare and hold national elections as part of its Country Programme 2023-2025. It is implemented by the United Nations Electoral Support Team, comprising experts from the UN Support Mission to Libya and UNDP. The governments of Canada, the Czech Republic, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom support this program.