Head of the National Electoral Commission in Libya, Emad Al-Sayeh, announced Tuesday that registration for candidates in the 2021 elections closed, with 98 potential candidates registered.
In a press conference, Al-Sayeh said that the commission will announce the initial list of potential candidates soon.
“Despite the novelty of our experience, we work to demonstrate this historic event with all our expertise and potential, and spare no effort to prove that we can restore the rule of law and state institutions,” Al-Sayeh said.
He added that the commission will look into the letter of the military prosecutor regarding the candidacy of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in the upcoming presidential elections.
Law No. 1 in the election rules stipulates that the candidate should not be “convicted of any offence”, Al-Sayeh said.
Military Prosecutor General Massoud Arhumeh demanded that the nomination of Saif Gaddafi and Haftar be suspended, because they were charged with different offences in several cases.
Moreover, Article 12 of the elections law requires those who wish to run for a state office to leave their previous position in the state three months before the elections.
AS for the parliamentary elections, Al-Sayeh said that the commission expects the number of potential candidates will reach about 4,000. He pointed out that 1,766 candidates have registered for the parliamentary elections so far.
Al-Sayeh noted that the data of 1,343 candidates have been forwarded to the competent authorities to verify the authenticity of the information provided by the applicants. The registration will run until 7 December.
