Preparations are almost finished for polls in Libya, the head of the electoral commission says, despite wrangling over voting laws and warnings the outcome could be contested.
The High National Election Commission said in August that more than 2.8 million Libyans had registered for the polls, out of a population of around seven million.
"We are 80 or 90 percent ready" for the presidential and parliamentary votes in December and January, Imed al-Sayeh, head of the HNEC, said in an interview with AFP.
"I think there will be very strong turnout for these elections, especially as there will be direct presidential polls for the first time since Libya's independence" in 1951, he said at his office in Tripoli.
He admitted that logistical problems remain but insisted that they could be overcome.
Commenting on the possibility of some figures running for the elections including Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar and Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Moammer Gaddafi, Sayeh said that "everyone has the right to take part in this process, and every Libyan with an identity number can stand for election in the presidential vote."
"The most important thing is that all political actors agree on how the elections are run and that their results are accepted," he said.
Haftar is expected to stand in the presidential poll and has temporarily given up his military role as required by the new law.
Libya has been a scene for violence and clashes among rival forces in the east and west of the country since the ousting of Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.
At the beginning of the year, the situation improved as a ceasefire agreement was reached and a government of national unity was formed chaired by Abdelhamid Dabeiba to manage the transitional phase and elections.
