Libya’s mayors ask for more local power and funding

Over 50 mayors in Libya called for an end to centralized governance over municipal affairs, as reported on July 6th by the Libya Observer. There were proposals of granting legal immunity to local mayors and increases to administrative and operational budgets.

The regional meeting on July 5th included municipal figures from the mountain region, central Libya, Greater Tripoli and the western coast of Libya.

Meeting members put forward a proposal for wider powers to be given to local governments and for the procedures carried out at the local level to be streamlined.

Libya has been in the midst of a political crisis since 2011, and attempts to carry out national and local elections have been made.

On June 25th it was announced by the High National Elections Commission that the voting phase of municipal elections was to begin before mid-August, but a few days into preparation the process has been halted by the eastern government with no reason given.

One procedure mayors have explicitly asked to be decentralized is contract-signing powers which are currently held by the Ministry of Local Governance.

There were also calls for more funding for local governments, specifically for administrative and operational budgets, and for the government to expedite the release of delayed salaries for municipal employees.

Issues that have prompted the proposal include: the resolution of sanitation service worker’s employment status, overdue payments for municipal councils, and the need to review employment terms and bonuses.

Mayors at the meeting also emphasised the need for support and legal protections to be able to carry out their roles, and asked they be granted legal immunity.

This request follows the rise in seemingly arbitrary arrests made by the Tripoli government in recent months, which the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has raised alarm over as individuals are being targeted for their political affiliations.

It also comes in the wake of the arrests of legal professionals and members of the judiciary, including the violent arrest of a judge on March 10th.

If political arrests in Libya continue, it is not unlikely that disgruntled figures in government, national or local, could be targeted. The request for legal immunity is likely an attempt from mayors to protect themselves.

 

Libya Observer, Maghrebi.org