As controversy over the upcoming Libyan elections threatens to rekindle clashes between warring factions, the strategy Turkey will follow in the run-up to the vote will be of greater significance. 

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah announced his presidential bid on Nov. 21 for the Dec. 24 presidential election, joining other contenders including former eastern-based commander Khalifa Hifter, Saadi Gadhafi, a son of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, and Aguila Saleh, speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Hifter's and Gadhafi’s bids have outraged militia groups based in strongholds of his opponents including Tripoli, Misrata, and Zintan with militia leaders openly threatening to reignite the civil war. Turkish-backed political actors have also been disgruntled by the candidacy of Hifter, who has been called a “putschist” and “war criminal” by Ankara.

Prior to the two heavyweights’ jump into the presidential race, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan separately hosted Dbeibah and Khalid al-Mishri, head of the High Council of State, in Turkey in early November in a bid to plot an election strategy. While Ankara has been accused of endangering the election by keeping Turkish forces and Turkish-backed foreign militia in the country, it ostensibly supports the Libyan elections. Yet some of Erdogan’s allies now are pushing for postponement of the vote.