Libya delays candidate list, leaving almost no time to hold the vote on December 24

The list of Libya’s presidential candidates will not be published until after settling some legal issues, said Libya’s election commission.

“Given the sensitivities of this stage and the political and security circumstances surrounding it, the commission is keen to exhaust all means of litigation to ensure its decisions comply with issued judgements,” the commission said in a statement on Saturday.

Libya’s presidential and parliamentary elections are set to take place on Dec. 24 under an UN backed agreement reached by Libyan political rivals in Tunisia on Nov. 15, 2020. The new issued decision leaves almost no time to hold the vote as scheduled.

Wrangling over the legal basis for the election, as well as its date and qualifications for candidates, threatened to derail the UN peace process that is considered as Libya’s best hope in years to end chronic instability and violence.

The process of ruling on the eligibility of candidates has laid bare major vulnerabilities in the process. The commission initially ruled out 25 candidates and set a period of about two weeks for judicial appeals.

Less than two weeks before the vote, there would be almost no time remaining for the final list of candidates from the 98 who registered to campaign across Libya, giving a huge advantage to those who are already well known.

Some factions have warned that a delay to the vote could prompt them to pull out of the wider political process.

Disputes about fundamental rules governing the election have continued throughout the process, including over the voting timetable, the eligibility of major candidates and the eventual powers of the next president and parliament.

The candidature of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former longtime Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi, and eastern commander Khalifa Haftar has also raised controversy, as both of them have been accused of war crimes.

Rival factions have accused each other of bribing judicial and administrative officials to sway the final list of candidates.

The electoral commission said it is communicating with the Supreme Judicial Council and with a parliamentary committee, as it would adopt procedures based on those conversations before moving forward with the electoral process.