Libya Presidential Election Postponed
This was announced on Wednesday by a parliamentary election committee, solidifying expectations the vote would be deemed untenable amid several ongoing political disputes.
The delay, which was widely anticipated amid debate over the validity of the process and certain candidates’ eligibility, comes as tensions appear to be ramping up in the country, which is just emerging from a civil war.
Observers and civilians have been divided over whether the election, which includes bids by several of Libya’s most controversial and divisive figures, would ratchet up fears over renewed conflict or help to diffuse them.
Three of the most prominent candidates include interim prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had previously said he would not run in the election; commander Khalifa Haftar who controls much of the country’s east and previously launched an assault on the capital of Tripoli; and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi who was overthrown and killed during the country’s 2011 revolution.
The younger Gaddafi is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in 2011 and Haftar has faced war crimes allegations in courts in the United States, where he lived for decades before returning to Libya.
Source: The Washington Post
