French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is expected to visit Libya on Monday to press ahead with plans to hold presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of the year.
Head of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) Imad al-Sayeh said the elections may take place next year pending the House of Representatives’ approval of the referendum on the Constitution and electoral law.
He added that the possibility of holding elections by the end of 2018 depends on the adoption of the electoral process which will govern the polls..
If the referendum law is issued on July 30, its implementation will need between two and three months, he explained, saying that the remaining time won’t be enough for the Commission to hold the next elections in 2018.
So the polls will be held in 2019, said Sayeh.
His statement can be considered a semi-official announcement that the elections may be postponed as agreed by the meeting sponsored by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris last May.
The meeting that brought together Libya’s bickering factions discussed holding presidential and parliamentary elections on December 10 as part of the UN mission’s roadmap to resolve the Libyan crisis.
During his visit to Libya, the French Foreign Minister is expected to hold meetings with representatives of Misrata city, in addition to possible talks with Libyan National Army commander Marshal Khalifa Haftar and President of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh.
In other news, National Oil Corporation chairman Mustafa Sanalla and a delegation from NOC visited the Sharara oil field to meet with Akakus employees and address their concerns on the recent kidnapping of four colleagues, two of whom were later released.
Sanalla also inspected field operations to learn about challenges facing NOC employees in Libya’s largest oil field. He reiterated that NOC’s first priority is worker safety.
He informed employees that NOC is looking at alternative long-term solutions to enhance local oil field security and ensure staff safety.
The chairman also met with a number of local leaders and elders to discuss the kidnapping of the oil workers and other issues, including forthcoming regional sustainability projects.
NOC and Akakus are focusing on freeing the two hostages while working with local authorities and the leaders of communities in the South to ensure their safe return to their families.
