Libya’s Presidential Election Postponed by Interim Parliament
Presidential elections in Libya scheduled for Friday will not go ahead as planned, the country’s parliament announced on Wednesday. The parliament, led by an interim government, did not announce a new date for the elections. The delay had been expected due to infighting over the legalities of the poll. Forces affiliated with different armed groups have been deploying in the capital, Tripoli, in recent days, according to the United Nations. Such mobilization “creates tensions and increases the risk of clashes that could spiral into conflict,” the UN Support Mission in Libya said in a statement Tuesday ahead of the cancelation of the elections. It is not known who will control the country after Friday, the day that the interim government’s mandate expires.
The United Nations-backed Tripoli-based unity government of interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah took office in March with a mandate to lead the country to the December elections. There are dozens of announced presidential candidates, including Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the former dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, who was ousted in 2011. The parliament announced in October that elections for the Libyan House of Representatives would be postponed from December,
Libya has been divided since 2015 between the internationally recognized Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the government of military leader Khalifa Hafta’s House of Representatives in Tobruk. A cease-fire between the two sides has been holding for the last year. Libya has been roiled by conflict since Moammar Gadhafi was removed from office.
