Why Libya Failed to Hold Presidential Elections on Time

Workers sit near an electoral billboard reading in Arabic 'Our participation is the future of your country' in Tripoli , Libya, 22 December 2021. EPA/STR
Workers sit near an electoral billboard reading in Arabic 'Our participation is the future of your country' in Tripoli , Libya, 22 December 2021. EPA/STR
TT
20

Why Libya Failed to Hold Presidential Elections on Time

Workers sit near an electoral billboard reading in Arabic 'Our participation is the future of your country' in Tripoli , Libya, 22 December 2021. EPA/STR
Workers sit near an electoral billboard reading in Arabic 'Our participation is the future of your country' in Tripoli , Libya, 22 December 2021. EPA/STR

Libyans were meant to elect a president Friday hoping to help end years of turmoil, but the poll was delayed amid intense rivalries, UN failures and legal issues, experts say.

Analyst Jalel Harchaoui of the Global Initiative think tank pointed to "mistakes on the part of the UN and an attitude of extremely bad faith on the part of Libyan actors".

The ballot should have marked a fresh start for the oil-rich North African nation, AFP reported. But officials on Wednesday said holding the December 24 vote as scheduled was impossible, with the electoral commission suggesting a month's delay.

"Preparations for the election had been taking place in a highly volatile climate characterized by disputes over electoral laws and the eligibility of candidates," Amnesty International said in a report.

"Armed groups and militias repeatedly repressed dissenting voices, restricted civil society and attacked election officials," Amnesty's Diana Eltahawy said.

The delay is a major challenge to the United Nations-sponsored peace process.

"From the outset, holding elections in Libya was going to be a dangerous gamble," said Claudia Gazzini, from the International Crisis Group.

"But the immediate trigger for this halt in the electoral process was a controversy over the leading electoral candidates".

The electoral process began to come off the rails when Haftar-ally Aguila Saleh, speaker of the eastern-based House of Representatives, signed off on an electoral law in September without putting it to a vote.

Saleh "is responsible for the electoral laws, which are a real disaster", Global Initiative's Harchaoui said, adding that the problematic legislation was "absolutely crucial to explaining the failure of the elections".

Despite criticism, UN Libya envoy Jan Kubis offered support for the law.

After that, "the UN lost room to maneuver", Harchaoui said.

Wolfram Lacher, a Libya specialist at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, criticized Kubis's "clueless backing" of Saleh's electoral law.

Analysts said that despite alarm bells, many in the international community clung onto the scheduled election date.

"Elections, however, are not the silver bullet that can deliver political stability," warned Hamish Kinnear, from risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft.

"As yet, there is no presidential candidate who stands much of a chance at taking power without being opposed by at least one well-armed faction."

For Lacher, the crisis was effectively inevitable ever since Saleh backed the electoral law.

"There were many scenarios how it could fail, and no shortage of insistent warnings," he said. "It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion."



Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
TT
20

Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the "weaponization" of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by an Israeli-backed organization.

Over 410 people have been killed by gunshots or shells fired by the Israeli military while trying to reach distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since it began work in late May, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing.

The death toll has been independently verified by his office, he added.

"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food," he said, describing the system as "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism".

"The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law."

Asked whether Israel was guilty of that war crime, he said: "The legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law."

Israel rejects war crimes charges in Gaza and blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.