Libyan Civil Status Authority
Libyan elections
Monitoring thousands of citizens who receive salaries with fake national numbers that are not registered in the civil status system
Al Arabiya.net – Monia Ghanmi
Published in: May 14, 2023: 03:19 PM GST
Last updated: May 14, 2023: 03:51 PM GST
The Libyan Attorney General’s office sparked widespread controversy by revealing widespread fraud in the national numbers of citizens, in a move that may hinder the general elections that may be held this year, and endanger their integrity and credibility.
The head of the Office of the Attorney General, Al-Siddiq Al-Sour, revealed, in a press conference on Friday, that extensive cases of forgery were detected in the national number system, and tens of thousands of them were deleted, stressing that the case of forgery caused a breach of trust in public authorities and the state, and caused serious damage to public money.
Al-Sour explained that thousands of citizens who receive salaries with forged national numbers that are not registered in the civil status system have been monitored, indicating that the number of incorrect national numbers reached 88,819, and that the Public Prosecution has evidence proving the forgery of thousands of entries that are suspected of being forged in civil records. .
To combat this phenomenon, Al-Sour announced the formation of committees headed by 160 prosecutors from all Libyan regions to examine the civil registry system at the Civil Status Authority, and to purify national numbers from fake identities.
The national number is a number that is distributed to every Libyan citizen, and is used to access his basic data, to receive dues from the state, to issue passports, and to register voters for voting.
However, since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, there has been significant manipulation and forgery in the national number records, as the Libyan authorities have seized foreign families who impersonated Libyan identity by forging national numbers, to benefit from financial aid and obtain official state documents such as passports, as well as to participate in elections.
In a statement to Al Arabiya.net, Libyan political analyst Muhammad Al-Raish considered that the presence of fake national numbers and identities in use does not serve the idea of elections, because that means the presence of fake voters who will have a major role in determining the results of any upcoming elections.
The United Nations hopes to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya before the end of this year, in a step towards reunifying the country and restoring stability to it. For any losing party to question the integrity and transparency of the elections and challenge them to the judiciary, calling for the need to expedite addressing this fraud in partnership between all state agencies.
