Libyan candidates say election delay is inevitable

TRIPOLI: A group of candidates in war-torn Libya’s presidential election said on Monday that they expect the polls to be delayed, despite the lack of an official announcement to that effect. Scheduled for Friday, the vote is meant to cap a United Nations-led peace process after a decade of conflict.

But it has been beset by deep divisions over its legal basis, who may stand and court challenges against prominent candidates. On Monday, 17 hopefuls issued a joint statement in which they implicitly acknowledged that a delay was inevitable.

The group urged the electoral commission to “reveal the reasons why there will be no election on the date set”, and called on it to “publish a final list of candidates”.