1. ACCREDITATION PROCEDURES FOR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS, INTERNATIONAL MEDIA AND GUESTS
2. ACCREDITATION DEADLINE
3. TYPES OF OBSERVER CARDS
4. INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
5. GUESTS
6. GENDER-BASED POLLING STATIONS
7. ASSISTANTS OF INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS AND GUESTS
8. REASONS FOR REJECTING APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION
9. IMPORTANT REMINDER

ACCREDITATION PROCEDURES FOR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS, INTERNATIONAL MEDIA AND GUESTS
The Election Law 4/2012, Article 3, stipulates that “elections shall be confidential, transparent, free, direct and public in accordance with the established international standards”. Its Article 43 further reads that “monitoring of the entire electoral process shall be undertaken by specialised regional and international civil society organisations accredited by the Commission, as well as candidates’ agents”.

By inviting and accrediting observers, media, and agents of political entities and candidates, the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) seeks to ensure the transparency of the electoral process by providing all interested stakeholders with an opportunity to observe the 2012 Elections to the General National Congress.

The accreditation of observers, media and agents of political entities and candidates is regulated by a number of regulations of the High National Elections Commission.
- Regulation No. 51: Accreditation of observers and candidate agents
- Regulation No. 57: Accreditation of media representatives
- Regulation No. 75: On adopting the Out-of-Country Voting regulations
The unofficial translations of these documents can be found in the submenu Legislation on election observation. The original Arabic versions of these documents are available at the Arabic version of the website.

Libyan nationals cannot observe elections in the capacity of international observers neither can Libyan nationals employed by the foreign embassies and international organisations accredited in Libya enjoy the status of a Guest. They may, however, join any domestic observer group of their choice to observe the elections, if appropriate.

ACCREDITATION DEADLINE
In order to guarantee the accreditation the international and domestic observers, international and national media, guests and party/candidate agents are invited to submit their accreditation applications by 1 July 2012 COB.

TYPES OF OBSERVER CARDS
There are six coloured types of observer cards issued by the HNEC as follows:



The accreditation procedures for Agent of Political Entity and Candidate, Domestic Observer, and National Media, are described in the Arabic version of the HNEC’s website. The accreditation for these categories of observers is dealt with at the level of the HNEC’s 13 sub-offices.

All observer cards are handwritten, stamped, feature a picture of the bearer (except for the Guest Card) and are laminated. The accreditation card is valid for the entire duration of the electoral process unless revoked by the HNEC or its sub-office as the case may be.

The accreditation documents can be submitted electronically (h.azzouz@hnec.ly) or in person from 08.30 to 16.00, Saturday to Thursday, Accreditation Unit, HNEC Building.

INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
International organisations and international media willing to get accredited with the HNEC are requested to submit an official letter along with the filled Form 1 and Form 1C. In addition, each observer is required to submit a copy of picture page of passport, copy of Libyan visa page and two passport-size pictures. Each accredited observer must sign the Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is available in the Forms submenu.

GUESTS
Guest status is awarded to representatives of invited governments, international staff members of embassies, United Nations agencies and organisations accredited in Libya. In order to comply with the HNEC’s Guest accreditation requirements, those interested are requested to address an official letter to the Chairman of the High National Elections Commission. The letter should include a list of diplomats to be accredited with indication of the first and last names, passport number, and nationality.

GENDER-BASED POLLING STATIONS
In accordance with its Decision No 19 On Voter Registration dated 24/04/2012 which allocates separate polling centres for men and women, the HNEC adopted Decision No 239 dated 23/06/2012 stipulating that the selection of observers and agents assigned to the polling stations should be based on gender of the polling stations. Candidate and political entity agents, international and domestic observers as well as journalists are requested to act accordingly.

ASSISTANTS OF INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS AND GUESTS
International observers, international media and guests may be accompanied by interpreters who have access to the polling stations on the basis of a letter signed by the head of the international observer organisation, international media or embassy official, as appropriate. A sample of interpreter’s credentials can be found in the Forms submenu (the colour-marked areas should be replaced with the organisation’s and interpreter’s information). No security staff and no weapons are allowed inside the polling centres/stations.

REASONS FOR REJECTING APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION
The Accreditation Coordinator or Accreditation Officer may reject any application for accreditation if:
a) The application does not meet the requirements provided for in the procedures; or
b) It is submitted after the HNEC determined deadline for observer applications.

IMPORTANT REMINDER
Any accredited observer and media representative, in coordination with their respective Authorised Representative, will:
1. Abide by the Code of Conduct at all times;
2. Be impartial, independent and objective in his/her role as an observer, not engage in political campaign, display party or candidate affiliation, insignia or partisan behaviour;
3. Remember that their role is to observe the electoral process and not to interfere in the work of the electoral staff, or the rights of voters;
4. Be entitled to follow the entire electoral process including the transfer of materials, voter registration, campaigning, polling, counting and tabulation, and the announcement of results in polling stations/centres, or offices of the High National Electoral Commission.
5. Enjoy the right to enter any voter registration or polling station or centre at any time during voter registration, polling, counting and tabulation, and announcement of preliminary results, provided that they do not interfere in the process;
6. Respectfully bring to the attention of the appropriate electoral official procedural problems or errors observed;
7. Report all violations of the law to its appropriate organisation;
8. Respect the secrecy of voters at all times – do not copy or photograph personal voter information or handle ballots;
9. Observe all aspects of the electoral process, record statistics of voter turnout, copy polling results, sign results forms if requested to do so, make written comments in the registration or polling log book and talk to electoral staff about their duties and preparations;
10. Display the accreditation badge at all times while observing in a voter registration centre, polling centre, results centre, media centre or any building being used for elections. They must also carry an ID with a photo (passport) in case any electoral or security official wishes to confirm their identity;
11. Be responsible for all costs associated with the performance of his/her observation activities such as transportation, communications, housing, health, etc.

The accredited observers and media representatives do not enjoy any special immunity for electoral offences or any other offences under the Electoral Law 4/2012 and must follow the Code of Conduct at all times while observing the elections. All provisions of this reminder also apply to agents of political entities and candidates.

The Accreditation Coordinator or the Accreditation Officer may revoke accreditation of any observer, agent or media representative in case of violation of the Code of Conduct, the Election Law, HNEC’s regulations, orders and decisions.

The HNEC or the Accreditation Coordinator, as the case may be, must inform in writing the observer, agent or media representative whose accreditation has been revoked of the reasons for such revocation, copying all communication to his or her respective Authorised Representative.

All observers and agents must belong to an organisation, political entity or candidate that has been registered for observation by the HNEC. Media representatives must belong to a recognized media organisation or outlet.