Disputes over the path forward could also undo the wider U.N.-backed peace process between Libya's main eastern and western camps that have maintained a ceasefire since last year. The election was originally called through a U.N.-backed roadmap that envisaged simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections on Dec. 24 - Libya's national day. However, there was no agreement on the constitutional basis for the election or on the rules among the country's fragmented political institutions. That law, which split the presidential election from a later parliamentary one, formed the basis of the electoral process, although powerful factions and leading candidates rejected it. Haftar was unacceptable to many in western Libya after his 2019-20 assault on Tripoli that smashed parts of the capital.

Source: Libya Today December 22, 2021 09:14 UTC