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 Libyaportal |
The Libyan presidential election had originally been planned for 10 December 2018, [1] but was delayed due to Khalifa Haftar's Western Libya campaign. [2] [3] The election was thereafter scheduled to be held on 24 December 2021 but was indefinitely postponed after the head of the High National Election Commission (HNEC) ordered the dissolution of the electoral committees nationwide. [4]
In a surprise offensive on 3 March 2017, the Islamist-dominated Benghazi Defense Brigades seized a number of oil ports from the Libyan National Army-backed House of Representatives. [5] On 7 March 2017, the ports were handed over to the Government of National Accord, prompting the House of Representatives to abandon the UN-brokered peace deal it had previously agreed to with that government, denouncing the BDB capture of the ports as "terrorist attacks". [6] The House then called for Libya's electoral commission to make "all the necessary arrangements to prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections before February 2018". [7]
In May 2018, talks occurred in Paris, France, where leaders of the Government of National Accord and representatives of Haftar's Libyan National Army agreed on establishing a legal framework by 16 September to hold parliamentary and presidential elections on 10 December. [8] The four people who agreed to deal were: Fayez al-Sarraj (head of the Government of National Accord), Khalifa Haftar (head of the Libyan National Army), Aguila Saleh Issa (head of the House of Representatives), and Khalid al-Mishri (head of the High Council of State). [9] This was supported by the final report of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue for the preparatory phase of the Libyan National Conference, which stated that Libyans participating in the consultative process "expressed fatigue and frustration with the current political situation and called for an election or other major change to usher in a new system". [10]
In July, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited Libya to speak with GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on making sure the elections went forward, and announcing that France donated US$1 million for the election. [11] The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte stated in early August 2018 that he doubted that elections would be held at the end of the year, despite France's push, [12] and Italian ambassador to Libya Giuseppe Perrone echoed this view. [13] The Italian embassy in Tripoli later denied that Perrone was trying to delay the election after his statements were criticized by the Libyan House of Representatives. [14] Ghassan Salamé, the United Nations representative in Libya, stated that an election in December 2018 would be unlikely due to the ongoing fighting. [15]
In November 2018, major Libyan political figures attended the two-day Palermo Conference in an attempt to resolve the Libyan Conflict, but without a breakthrough. [16]
One of the major aims of the Libyan National Conference, which was initially scheduled for 14–16 April 2019, but postponed by the start of Haftar's military operation to take control of Tripoli from the GNA, was to recommend methods and dates of the 2019 elections to the Libyan House of Representatives and High Council of State. [17]
According to resolution 8/2013 of the General National Congress (GNC), the body responsible for the practical aspects of organising the elections is the High National Elections Commission (HNEC). [18] [19] HNEC is expected to follow the procedures outlined in resolution 17/2013 of the GNC. [18] As of 2019 [update] , the HNEC Board consisted of Emad Alshadly al-Sayah, Rabab Mohammed Halab, Abdelhakim Alshaab Belkhair and Abubakr Ali Marda. [20]
The 2019 Libyan local elections took place in 20 localities, prior to the parliamentary and presidential elections, in March and April 2019, [21] [22] [23] [24] with further planned elections in other towns during 2019. The local elections are coordinated by the Central Commission of Municipal Council Elections in close cooperation with HNEC. [19]
In 2019, Libyan Speaker of the House Aguila Saleh announced that elections could be held in 2020. [25]
On 16 September 2020, Fayez al-Sarraj stated that he would step down from his position by the end of October 2020. This took place after the first month of the start of the 2020 Libyan protests in Tripoli, Benghazi and other cities across Libya. [26] [27]
On 23 September 2021, Haftar temporarily withdrew his post from the command of the LNA for a potential run in the election. Under Libyan law, officials must suspend their current work three months before participating in the election. [28]
Various postponements have resulted from disputes about fundamental rules governing the election, including the voting timetable, the eligibility of the main candidates and the eventual powers of the next president and parliament.
Days before the first round was scheduled to take place, the election was already up in the air, with no official list of candidates presented to the public and no formal campaigning under way. [4] On 22 December the parliament of Libya confirmed the postponement. The chairman of the election committee said, ”After consulting the technical, judicial and security reports, we inform you of the impossibility of holding the elections on the date of 24 December 2021, provided for by the electoral law,” without giving a new date. [29] Foreign Policy summarized that the causes for the delay were that "the process was beleaguered by two interrelated issues: differences over the idea of holding a presidential election in the current context, and the resulting failure to reach the required consensus on a framework for elections". [30]
The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the United States urged Libya to set a new date for delayed presidential election quickly. [31] The HNEC insisted that the House of Representatives is responsible for setting the new date. [32] Speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh said the election committee responsible for overseeing elections must set a "definitive" date for postponed presidential and legislative polls by the end of January. [33]
The U.N.'s special adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, who has pursued a new election date, told the Associated Press that it was still "very reasonable and possible" for the country's 2.8 million voters to cast their ballots by June 2022 in line with the U.N.-brokered roadmap. [34]
On 23 January 2022, interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh called for a constitution to be established before holding the delayed presidential and parliamentary elections. [35] A month later, on 22 February, Dbeibeh announced a plan to hold the elections in June 2022. [36] He later proposed holding elections at the end of 2022. [37]
Since then, the voting has not taken place and the plans have unraveled and left the country in crisis, although Dbeibeh is reported by his allies to be working on these issues. [38] One reason given is the inability to agree on banning military personnel as well as dual citizens from running in the elections. [39] In February 2023, current United Nations envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, reported that a new initiative to agree on elections is in the works. [40] Guma el-Gamaty, a Libyan politician and a member of UN-backed Libyan political dialogue process, opined that a solution to the crisis would be either bypassing the House of Representatives and the High Council of State by the Presidential Council as they seem to be reluctant on giving up power, or holding the parliamentary elections first. [41]
The President of Libya is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round will be held.
2.83 million people were registered to vote in the Libyan election as of August 2021. [42]
Registration for presidential candidates opened on 7 November and lasted until 22 November. [43] [44] Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, registered his candidacy on 14 November 2021. [45] Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, registered his candidacy on 16 November. [46] Aref Nayed, Chairman of the Ihya Libya Party, submitted his candidacy on 17 November 2021. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh registered his candidacy on 21 November. [47] Abdel Moneim al-Houni, former Foreign Minister and founding member of the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council, registered his candidacy on 22 November. [48] In total, 96 men and two women registered as candidates. [49]
A preliminary list of 73 presidential candidates was released by the HNEC on 24 November. Twenty-five candidates were disqualified from the election, including Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Nouri Abusahmain, Bashir Saleh Bashir, and Ali Zeidan. Gaddafi, Abusahmain, and Saleh were disqualified under Article 10/7 of the electoral law for having been convicted of a crime. Gaddafi was also disqualified under Article 17/5 for not providing a certificate showing a clean criminal record. Zeidan was disqualified under Article 10/2 for having more than one nationality and under Article 11 for not having 5000 supporters. [50] According to the electoral law, any appeals against the disqualifications are to be decided by the judiciary. [51]
On 28 November, the Tripoli Appeals Court rejected the candidacy of current prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh after accepting two appeals against his bid. The first appeal was filed by presidential candidates Aref Ali Nayed, Othman Abdeljalil, Mohammed Al-Muntasser, and Libyan Political Dialogue Forum members Ahmed Al-Sharkasi and Al-Saida Al-Yakoubi, while the second appeal was filed by presidential candidate Fathi Bashagha. [52]
On 30 November, Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar was disqualified from the presidential election after the Zawiya Court of First Instance accepted an appeal against his candidacy. [53]
On 1 December, four candidates disqualified by the HNEC, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, Nouri Abusahmain, Salama Al-Ghweil, and Fathi Benshatwan were placed back on the ballot by the Tripoli Court of Appeal. [54] [55]
On 2 December, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was placed back on the ballot after the Sabha Court of Appeal accepted his appeal against his disqualification from the list of presidential candidates. [56]
On 6 December, Khalifa Haftar returned to the presidential election after the Tripoli Court of Appeal rejected a 30 November ruling by the lower Zawiya court. [57]
| Portrait | Candidate | Party | Candidacy registration date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Nouri Abusahmain (born 1956) | Ya Bilad [54] | Former President of the General National Congress | ||
| Salama Al-Ghweil | Independent | Minister of State for Economic Affairs [58] | |||
| Mohamed Ahmed Al Sharif (born 1937) | Independent | 17 November 2021 [59] | Former head of the Libyan Islamic Society [60] | ||
| Mayouf Amarif | Independent | Professor at Sabha University [61] | |||
| Ibrahim Dabbashi (born 1950) | Independent | Former permanent representative of Libya to the United Nations [62] | |||
 | Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (born 1972) | Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya | 14 November 2021 [63] | Son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi | |
| Aref Ali Nayed (born 1962) | Ihya Libya | 17 November 2021 [64] | Former Libyan Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates | ||
| Hunayda al-Mahdi | Independent | Social sciences researcher [65] | |||
 | Fathi Bashagha (born 1962) | Independent | 18 November 2021 [66] | Former Minister of Interior of the Government of National Accord [67] | |
| Fathi Benshatwan | Independent | 16 November 2021 [59] | Former Minister of Energy (2004-2006) [55] [59] | ||
 | Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh (born 1959) | Libya Future [68] | 21 November 2021 [69] | Interim Prime Minister of Libya | |
 | Khalifa Haftar (born 1943) | Independent | 16 November 2021 [70] | Commander of the Libyan National Army [71] | |
| Leila bin Khalifa (born 1975) | National Movement Party | 22 November 2021 [72] | Human Rights Activist and Head of National Movement Party | ||
 | Ahmed Maiteeq (born 1972) | Independent | 18 November 2021 [73] | Former Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord, former Deputy Head of the Presidential Council | |
| Abdullah Ahmed Naker | Summit Party | 16 November 2021 [59] | Former head of the Tripoli Revolutionaries Council [74] | ||
| Abdelmajeed Saif Al-Nasr (born 1957) | Independent | Former Libyan Ambassador to Morocco [75] | |||
 | Aguila Saleh Issa (born 1944) | Independent | 17 November 2021 [43] | Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives | |
| Khalid Shakshak | Independent | Head of Audit Bureau [55] | |||
| Abdel Moneim al-Houni | Independent | 22 November 2021 | Former Foreign Minister (1974–1975), founding member of Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (1969–1975) | ||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Dbeibeh | Gaddafi | Haftar | Bashagha | Undecided | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institute | circa 2022 | 2115 (V) | – | 5.1% | 46.4% | 5.7% | 3.2% | 22.3% | 17.3% |
| Diwan Institute | 1–5 December 2021 | 1106 (RV) | ± 3% | 49.7% | 14% | 7.3% | 1.5% | 25.5% | 2.1% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Dbeibeh | Gaddafi | Undecided | Abstention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diwan Institute | 1–5 December 2021 | 1106 (RV) | ± 3% | 63% | 23% | 8% | 6% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Dbeibeh | Haftar | Undecided | Abstention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diwan Institute | 1–5 December 2021 | 1106 (RV) | ± 3% | 73% | 14% | 8% | 6% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Bashagha | Gaddafi | Undecided | Abstention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diwan Institute | 1–5 December 2021 | 1106 (RV) | ± 3% | 27% | 36% | 8% | 29% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Bashagha | Haftar | Undecided | Abstention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diwan Institute | 1–5 December 2021 | 1106 (RV) | ± 3% | 30% | 20% | 9% | 41% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Dbeibeh | Bashagha | Undecided | Abstention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diwan Institute | 1–5 December 2021 | 1106 (RV) | ± 3% | 75% | 11% | 7% | 8% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Gaddafi | Haftar | Undecided | Abstention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diwan Institute | 1–5 December 2021 | 1106 (RV) | ± 3% | 38% | 17% | 8% | 37% |
Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi is a Libyan political figure. He is the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash. He was a part of his father's inner circle, performing public relations and diplomatic roles on his behalf. He publicly turned down his father's offer of the country's second highest post and held no official government position. According to United States Department of State officials in Tripoli, during his father's reign, he was the second most widely recognized person in Libya, being at times the de facto prime minister, and was mentioned as a possible successor, though he rejected this. An arrest warrant was issued for him on 27 June 2011 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for charges of crimes against humanity against the Libyan people, for killing and persecuting civilians, under Articles 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(h) of the Rome statute. He denied the charges.
Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Omar Haftar is a Libyan politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA). In 2015, he was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the elected legislative body, the Libyan House of Representatives.
Major General Osama al-Juwaili is a Libyan military officer who served as Minister of Defence in the government of Abdurrahim El-Keib, Libya's interim Prime Minister. Since the formation of the Government of National Accord (GNA) in 2015, al-Juwaili served it as a senior commander, since 2017 being the commander of the Western Military Zone. On 6 April 2019 he became the commander of the joint operations room, created by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj to coordinate military operations since the start of the 2019 Western Libya offensive.
Bashir Saleh Bashir is a former aide of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He was head of the Libyan African Portfolio, a sovereign wealth fund that invested Libya's oil wealth mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and served as an intermediary between Libya, Africa and France. Bashir was captured after the Battle of Tripoli during the Libyan Civil War, but later escaped. Libya demanded that he be extradited because it was believed he was in France. Bashir spent Libya's oil money solely for the Gaddafi family, buying up hotels, mineral resources and shares in companies, eventually becoming what some Libyan officials and financial experts describe as one of the largest single investors in Africa. Libyan authorities believe that finding him is the key to finding $7 billion in missing Libyan funds. He is a close associate of French businessman Jean-Yves Ollivier.
Gaddafi loyalism, in a wider political and social sense also known as the Green resistance, consists of sympathetic sentiment towards the overthrown government of Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed in October 2011, and his Third International Theory. Despite Muammar Gaddafi's death, his legacy and Jamahiriya ideology still maintains a popular appeal both inside and outside Libya into the present day. Regardless, the Western sentiment has largely been that this continued support may contribute to some of the ongoing violence in Libya.
The Libyan House of Representatives is the legislature of Libya resulting from the 2014 Libyan parliamentary election, which had an 18% turnout. On 4 August 2014, in the course of the progressing August 2014 Islamist coup in the capital Tripoli in the context of the Libyan Civil War, the House of Representatives relocated itself to Tobruk in the far east of Libya. Several HoR sessions were held in Tripoli in May 2019 while Tripoli was under armed attack, electing an Interim Speaker for 45 days. Between 2014 and 2021, the House of Representatives supported the Tobruk-based government led by Abdullah al-Thani before supporting the incumbent Government of National Unity led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh. In September 2021, the House of Representatives passed a no-confidence motion against the interim GNU government and later appointed a rival Government of National Stability (GNS).
The Libyan crisis is the current humanitarian crisis and political-military instability occurring in Libya, beginning with the Arab Spring protests of 2011, which led to two civil wars, foreign military intervention, and the ousting and death of Muammar Gaddafi. The first civil war's aftermath and proliferation of armed groups led to violence and instability across the country, which erupted into renewed civil war in 2014. The second war lasted until October 23, 2020, when all parties agreed to a permanent ceasefire and negotiations.
The Government of National Accord was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement was unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, which welcomed the formation of a Presidency Council for Libya and recognized the Government of National Accord as the sole legitimate executive authority in Libya. On 31 December 2015, Chairman of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh Issa declared his support for the Libyan Political Agreement. The General National Congress has criticized the GNA on multiple fronts as biased in favor of its rival parliament the House of Representatives.
The Presidential Council is a body formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement which was signed on 17 December 2015. The Council carries out the functions of head of state of Libya and is proposed to command the Libyan Armed Forces.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya is a Gaddafi loyalist militia and political party that aims to elect Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, as president of Libya.
The International Criminal Court investigation in Libya or the Situation in Libya is an investigation started in March 2011 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into war crimes and crimes against humanity claimed to have occurred in Libya since 15 February 2011. The initial context of the investigation was the 2011 Libyan Civil War and the time frame of the investigation continued to include the 2019 Western Libya offensive.
Fathi Ali Abdul Salam Bashagha, known simply as "Fathi Bashagha" or occasionally Fathi Ali Pasha, is a Libyan politician and the former interim prime minister of Government of National Stability. He served as Minister of Interior from 2018 to 2021.
The Libyan peace process was a series of meetings, agreements and actions that aimed to resolve the Second Libyan Civil War. Among these were the Skhirat agreement of December 2015 and the plans for the Libyan National Conference in April 2019 that were delayed because of the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign.
The 2020 Libyan protests consisted of street protests over issues of poor provision of services in several cities in Libya, including cities controlled by the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west and by the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the east (Benghazi) and south (Sabha) of Libya.
Abdul Hamid Muhammad Abdul Rahman al-Dbeibeh is a Libyan politician and businessman who is the prime minister of Libya under the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli. Dbeibeh was appointed on 15 February 2021 through the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, and he was expected to hold the office until elections on 24 December 2021, which were later postponed.
Mohamed Yunus al-Menfi is a Libyan diplomat and politician. On 5 February 2021, he was chosen as the president of the Libyan Presidential Council at the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum. Previously, he had served as the Libyan Ambassador to Greece.
The Government of National Unity is a provisional government for Libya formed on 10 March 2021 to unify the rival Government of National Accord based in Tripoli and the Second Al-Thani Cabinet, based in Tobruk. Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh is the Prime Minister of the unity government and was selected in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum on 5 February 2021. It is de facto backed by the governments of Turkey, Qatar, Algeria, and Pakistan.
Parliamentary elections have been scheduled to be held in Libya since 2021. Originally scheduled for 10 December 2021, elections has been pushed back multiple times amid the ongoing political crisis in Libya.
The Government of National Stability is a provisional government of Libya based in Benghazi that formed on 3 March 2022, led by Osama Hamada and supported by the House of Representatives and the Libyan National Army. Since its inception, the government has claimed power over Libya in competition with the Government of National Unity led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, with the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum coordinating the ceasefire agreement.
Ali Kanna Sulayman is a Libyan lieutenant general of Tuareg origin. He was the commander of Muammar Gaddafi's southern forces in the First Libyan Civil War. After the end of the Fezzan campaign, he fled to Agadez and helped other Gaddafi loyalists, most notably air force commander Ali Sharif Al-Rifi, escape to Niger.
