Libya's FM signals elections could be delayed
Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush said the Dec. 24 elections could be postponed if lawmakers fail to agree on the electoral law.
Libya's foreign minister hinted on Tuesday at the possibility that nationwide elections scheduled for the end of the year could be postponed if lawmakers in the North African country fail to agree on a legal framework.
“As a government, we have put in place everything required to move towards elections, providing financial, logistical and material support to the elections commission,” Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush told reporters in the Algerian capital Algiers on Tuesday.
“I cannot answer whether the elections will be postponed or not, but we are trying to ensure they will be held on the scheduled date,”' AFP quoted her as saying. “We are still waiting to see if parliament will approve the electoral law. … This could block or postpone the election.”
An interim government led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh took office in February and is tasked with preparing the country for general elections set for Dec. 24, the anniversary of Libya’s independence in 1951. But the 75-member Libyan Political Dialogue Forum has yet to agree on a framework for the presidential and parliamentary elections.
