TRIPOLI : A Libyan political body on Wednesday called for a Dec. 24 presidential election to be delayed to February amid growing jostling over the rules and legal basis of a vote aimed at ending a decade of instability. The statement by the High State Council (HSC), an advisory body installed through a 2015 peace agreement but not recognised by all other Libyan political entities, comes less than three weeks before the vote. In Libya's complex, fractured political environment the extent of the HSC's powers is debated, but its statement adds to the doubts surrounding the election. The HSC statement on Wednesday said the presidential and parliamentary elections should both take place on the same day, as was originally demanded by the U.N. roadmap. Laws issued in September and October by HoR speaker Aguila Saleh, a presidential candidate, set a first round presidential vote for Dec. 24 but delayed the parliamentary vote.

Source: Libya Today December 08, 2021 20:57 UTC