The former UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame said that the “ruling authority” in Libya does not want the elections to be held on time.
In an interview with the Al-Ghad television channel, Salame accused this “ruling authority” of obstructing the holding of elections on time. This is due to them wanting to run, in violation of the agreed-upon political roadmap.
“There is a political class present in certain positions in the government who is not in a hurry to put itself under the voter’s decision, and they are trying with all their might to postpone the date of the elections,” he said.
Salame explained that there are difficulties in implementing the roadmap set by the UN despite the promising progress.
“There is progress on various tracks in Libya, including the unification of the two governments, the opening of the Coastal Road, the resumption of domestic flights, and the exchange of prisoners,” he explained.
“The opinion polls that we conducted indicated that 80% of the Libyan people want the elections to be held on time. The Libyan citizen has the right to elect whoever he chooses directly,” the former envoy noted.
“The problem in Libya is not a question of the electoral law, but a question of political will. Legitimacy in Libya is pending and it needs a solution, which will only be through elections,” Salame concluded.
Previously, in a statement, the HNEC’s Head, Imad al-Sayeh, said that around 10,712 Libyans abroad, including 7,296 men and 3,433 women, had signed up to vote. He added that the highest number of votes was registered in the United Kingdom (UK), hitting 2,040 votes, followed by Egypt, with 1,290 voters, and then Turkey, with 905 voters.
Notably, Libya’s HNEC said that a total of 2,834,451 people signed up to vote.