Libyan Parliament Delays Election; People Angry Over Endless Transition Period

Libyans across the country are filled with weariness and anger because of the delay in presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya.

Libya’s eastern-based parliament said on Monday that there would be no elections this year. Subsequently, the parliament voted to approve a “roadmap” in which it will choose a new interim government.

Libya was meant to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in December. However,  arguments between factions and bodies of state delayed the election further. Now, the political institution decided to extend a transitional period again.

Saad Mohammed, a resident of Benghazi in eastern Libya, told Arab News, “The transitional periods will continue in Libya and the people are only manipulated.” Mohamed Gharyani, a resident of Tripoli, said, “How many times will we postpone the election? We’ve been going for years and we’ve been postponing.” Khaled Ali, another resident of Benghazi, said that the politicians are trying to stay in power as long as possible.

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Nearly 3 million Libyans registered to vote in the December elections. Libyans were hoping that the upcoming elections would end the violence and the conflict that continued in the country for years. However, the country’s elections commission proposed a delay in the election. The election commission chief, Imad el-Sayeh, said that the country was unable to hold December 24 elections because of legal problems.

Libya has been suffering ever since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed. An October 2020 ceasefire agreement called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Libya. The withdrawal led to an agreement on a transitional government in early February 2021.

After the sudden resignation of former UN (United Nations) envoy Jan Kubis in November, Stephanie Williams has served as UN special adviser on Libya. Earlier, Williams said that the main focus of Libya’s government should be on moving forward with elections because people want this election.