On Wednesday, Head of Libya’s High National Electoral Commission (HNEC), Emad Al-Sayeh said that the country’s general elections will be held on 24 December as scheduled, unless a referendum on the draft constitution takes place.
In press statements, Al-Sayeh said that holding a referendum on the draft constitution will delay the electoral process until a final constitution is approved by all parties.
“We are continuing to prepare for the elections and we will discuss the issue of financial support with the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba. We have also renewed our contract with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for another year, which will entail providing great support from the EU to HNEC. This is in addition to the supervision of a team of UN experts on the electoral process,” Al-Sayeh added.
He stressed that the Commission is ready to hold a referendum on the draft constitution in the event it is passed by the Libyan Parliament.
On 15 November, the first round of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) in Tunisia concluded with the announcement of parliamentary and presidential elections on 24 December. This is a historical date that marks the 70th anniversary of Libya’s independence.