Libya-Elections Postponed

 

Stood Up

LIBYA

Libya’s highly anticipated presidential elections set to take place Friday were postponed, dealing a major blow on international efforts to end years of conflict in the oil-rich North African nation, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

A parliamentary election committee said it encountered a series of difficulties including “the inadequacy of electoral legislation with regard to the judiciary’s role in electoral appeals and disputes.”

It proposed a new date of Jan. 24.

The delay comes as tensions are increasing in the country, which is just emerging from a civil war. Observers were divided on whether the polls would renew conflict or defuse tensions after a decade of civil conflict.

Currently, three main candidates are running for president: Interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah; eastern-based commander General Khalifa Haftar; and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown during the 2011 revolution.

All three candidates have been facing eligibility issues in recent weeks and their allegiances are divided along geographical lines.

The international community threw its support behind the scheduled elections, hoping the polls could fill the power vacuum that began after the elder Gaddafi’s ouster. Last month, foreign powers underscored the importance of the Dec. 24 vote at a summit in France and threatened to sanction those who attempted to impede it.