Libya plans to register candidates for elections in November

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya plans to open registration for candidates in the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections in November, according to the head of the electoral commission.

“The commission plans to open registration for the polls in the first half of November,” Emad al-Sayah, the head of the High National Elections Commission, told a press conference in Tripoli.

He said lists of eligible voters will be published on Monday.

“The commission is committed to holding free and fair elections,” al-Sayah added.

The commission chief said the judicial authority is responsible for ruling on electoral disputes.

“Everyone has the opportunity to challenge any legal text before the judiciary,” he added.

The presidential and parliamentary elections are set to take place on Dec. 24 under an agreement reached by Libyan political rivals in Tunisia on Nov. 15, 2020.

In February 2021, Libyan rivals agreed to form an interim unity government to lead the country to elections.

Libyans hope the new authority will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara