The High National Elections Commission (HNEC) has proposed postponing the “first round” of elections to January 24, 2022, after coordination with the House of Representatives, provided that the House of Representatives takes the necessary measures to remove the case of “force majeure” facing the completion of the electoral process.
The HNEC issued a statement confirming that the stage of appeals constituted the last turning point in the course of the electoral process, and it was the phase at which the efforts to achieve this historic and responsible entitlement stopped due to considerations that were not within the reach of those in charge of the process, adding that the most important of those considerations was the inadequacy of electoral legislation with regard to the judiciary’s role in electoral appeals and disputes that negatively affected the right of the HNEC to defend its decisions.
This created a state of uncertainty that the decisions of the HNEC were right with regard to its exclusion of a number of candidates who did not meet the conditions, and the overlap between the political data and the judicial rulings issued prompted the decision to announce the (final list) of candidates to what is known as the (force majeure) situation, which led to the HNEC’s inability to announce it and consequently its inability to set December 24 as the vote day, despite its full technical readiness to complete the process on the scheduled date.
The HNEC’s proposal came in line with what was stated in Article (43) of Law No. (1) of 2021 regarding the election of the head of state and the determination of his powers, and its amendments, which stipulate that the HNEC announces the postponement of the voting process, and the House of Representatives sets another date for conducting the voting process within (30) days.
On the process of electing the House of Representatives, the HNEC’s statement indicated that the process of vetting the applications of the (5385) candidates is nearing completion and is in the process of final review after receiving the responses of its partners in the audit process and the extent to which the candidacy conditions stipulated in the law are applicable.
The HNEC stressed that it has not abandoned its responsibilities, and has accomplished what it must do in a manner that leaves no room for doubt in its impartiality and independence, and that the accusations of negligence and politicization are nothing but campaigns of confusion and misinformation aimed at undermining its reputation and impeding this entitlement, according to what was stated in the statement, which put the legislative and judicial authorities before their responsibilities and obligations to take measures conducive to the success of this entitlement in order to achieve the hopes and aspirations of Libyans for a better future.
It is worth noting that the Head of the Follow-up Committee for the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, Hadi al-Saghir, had confirmed in a letter to Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, the impossibility of holding the elections on the date set by the election law on December 24, 2021, after reviewing the relevant technical, judicial and security reports.
