What happened in Libya this week is surprising. All parties to the political process decided to postpone the presidential elections, which were scheduled for the 24th of this month, to next January. This postponement was made without an official announcement, except for this proposal made by the Libyan Electoral Commission.
This is strange for the warring parties in this country that have been in flames since 2011. All of them, except for some national figures, take advantage of any opportunity to affirm their ability to obstruct any decision or plan that might lead to a truce…except in this delay, for which the commission assumed responsibility instead of them to save their face, and for fear of sanctions that would have been imposed on them internationally and regionally.
The commission’s proposal coincided with a parliamentary committee declaring the impossibility of holding presidential elections at present, due to circumstances related to technical, judicial, and security reports.
The commission explained in a press statement that it “proposes, in coordination with the House of Representatives, to postpone the polling day (the first round) to the twenty-fourth of January 2022, provided that the House of Representatives takes measures to remove the ‘force Majeure that confronts the completion of the electoral process.”
Thus, the postponement came without blaming any political, judicial, or regulatory body. The delay, or in a more precise sense, the “slip” that the election date is witnessing, will be an opportunity to get rid of all the excuses offered by the political parties to obstruct the move. This month will be the last opportunity to gather the remaining political, procedural, and legal excuses or justifications that some may put forward to remove certain personalities from enjoying this entitlement.
So far, the commission has not published the “final lists” of the 98 candidates, and after the exclusions, the number was reduced to 73 candidates, and the electoral campaign was not allowed to start. This is in addition to the high number of complaints before the judiciary and appeals against some candidates. The parliamentary committee had demanded about two weeks ago to postpone the elections for a month or two.
The main problem is that so far, the criteria and conditions set by the commission have not been applied to all candidates to the same degree. Most of the main figures who applied have not implemented some of these requirements, such as leaving their positions 3 months before running for candidacy or relinquishing other nationalities. This is in addition to the fact that some people violate pledges not to run for office, such as Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba.
Will this period be sufficient to remove the obstacles to holding the elections, especially after the United States reminded the Libyans of their obligations towards the elections? We hope this, or else the alternative will be to fall again into the political vacuum and lead to a security collapse.
Dr. Hatem Sadek :Professor at Helwan University
