Libya delays long-awaited election seen as key to peace

TRIPOLI: Authorities overseeing war-torn Libya’s first presidential election have confirmed that holding it on Friday as scheduled is "impossible" and suggested a month-long delay.

The vote was intended to mark a fresh start for the oil-rich North African country, a year after a landmark ceasefire and more than a decade after its 2011 revolt that toppled and killed dictator Moamer Qadhafi.

But speculation of a delay had been mounting for weeks. There were bitter disputes over the vote’s legal basis, the powers of the winner and the candidacies of several deeply divisive figures.