Authorities in Eastern Libya Call for Presidential Elections as Soon as Possible

SadaNews - On Friday evening, the authorities in Eastern Libya called for organizing presidential elections as soon as possible, in response to public demands witnessed in several cities over the past hours, calling for the necessity of determining the legitimacy through the ballot box and ending the transitional phase.

In this regard, the Speaker of the Parliament, Aguila Saleh, urged the High National Electoral Commission to immediately start implementing the law for the election of the Head of State issued by the legislative authority, and to take the necessary steps to set a date for the presidential elections as soon as possible, considering that hastening their organization represents a fundamental step in building a stable state.

Saleh confirmed that the turnout of thousands of citizens in various regions of Libya reflects the desire of nearly 3 million registered voters to proceed to the elections without delay, emphasizing that the will of the Libyans is the source of authority.

On Friday, the cities of Benghazi, Al-Bayda, and Tobruk in the east, and Sabha, Obari, and Al-Jufra in the south, and Bani Walid in the west witnessed popular gatherings, where demonstrators called for expediting the organization of presidential and parliamentary elections, stressing their right to choose a president for the country through voting.

In response to this, the head of the government appointed by the parliament, Osama Hamad, confirmed in a statement his support for the demonstrators' demands, considering that conducting the presidential elections has become a necessity to end the difficult phase of institutional division that the country is experiencing.

For years, the electoral file in Libya has been plagued by continuous obstacles due to disagreements over the rules regulating candidacy and the qualified names for competition, which led to the collapse of the December 2021 elections and plunged the country into a state of ongoing political deadlock.