Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications of attacks by armed groups on polling stations during municipal elections held in Libya in September 2018 on the prospect of secure parliamentary and presidential elections in that country.

​Municipal elections represent an important part of Libya’s political transition. The UK welcomes the fact that a small number of municipal elections have already taken place this year, but the attack on the Bani Walid municipal electoral commission highlights the scale of the challenges ahead, including for future national electoral events. We have allocated £12 million for Libya this financial year through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, including funding for both the national and local election commissions to help them prepare for future elections. We support UN Special Representative to the Secretary General Salamé’s view that elections must be preceded by the necessary political, technical and security preparations.