TRIPOLI, Dec 23 (NNN-IRIN) – The High National Elections Commission (HNEC) of Libya, yesterday announced a proposal to postpone the upcoming presidential elections, which was scheduled for tomorrow, to later Jan, 2022.
“The commission proposes, in coordination with the House of Representatives, to postpone the first round of voting in the presidential election to Jan 24, 2022, provided that, the House of Representatives takes the necessary measures to lift the state of force majeure that obstructs the electoral process,” the HNEC said in a statement.
The commission stressed that its decision to disqualify a number of presidential candidates was correct, as those candidates didn’t meet the presidential candidacy conditions.
Since the early morning on Tuesday, southern Tripoli witnessed military mobilisation of armed groups, sparking fears of confrontations.
The developments unfolded a few days before the presidential elections, which faced difficulty, as the Elections Commission failed to publish the final list of candidates.
The commission explained that the “current overlap between political facts and the issued judicial rulings, forced a state of force majeure on the announcement of the final list of presidential candidates.”
More than 2.5 million Libyan voters have received their voter cards from the HNEC, and are expecting to cast their votes to choose a president.
The Libyan parliamentary elections, originally planned to be held on the same day as the presidential poll, have also been postponed to Jan, 2022.
The elections are part of a roadmap adopted by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Feb, with the aim to bring stability to Libya.– NNN-IRIN
