Chairman of Libya’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC), Emad Al-Din Al-Sayeh said that the calls for a referendum to be held on the constitution, are just an attempt to delay and obstruct the upcoming December elections.
Al-Sayeh indicated that a political decision regarding the holding of the elections on time has not been decided yet, given that the positions of the political parties remain ambiguous. He also alleged that a number of unnamed countries were working with their allies inside Libya to obstruct this process, to protect their interests.
Al-Sayeh added that HNEC was reliant on a budget provided by the previous government, amounting to 50 million dinars. He warned that this budget does not guarantee the elections will be held as scheduled for 24 December.
The HNEC Head stressed that the Commission has not yet contacted the Government of National Unity (GNU) about the additional funding needed. This is due to the uncertainty regarding the type of electoral process to be adopted, in addition to the delay in the approval of its 2021 budget by the Libyan Parliament.