Libya delays publishing final list of presidential candidates

Tripoli, Dec 12 (IANS) Libya's High National Elections Commission (HNEC) announced the delay in publishing the final list of the presidential candidates, citing its plans on judicial and legal procedures related to the electoral process.

"The Commission will adopt some judicial procedures in communication with the Supreme Judicial Council, and legal procedures in communication with the House of Representatives, before publishing the final list of candidates and announcing the start of the electoral campaign," the HNEC said in a statement.

The HNEC was supposed to announce the final list of the presidential candidates after the judicial appeals ended on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Libyan commission said it is reviewing the judicial verdicts regarding presidential candidates' challenges, promising every effort to ensure that all its decisions in line with issued verdicts.

More than 2.8 million Libyan voters are expected to cast their votes to elect a new President in the December 24 elections, as part of a roadmap adopted by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.

The most notable presidential candidates include Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi; Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the eastern-based army; Aguila Saleh, the speaker of Parliament; and Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, the incumbent Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, the country's parliamentary elections, originally planned to be held on the same day as the presidential poll, have been postponed to January 2022.